One Punch Loud
by GodOfFighting
Summary: Lincoln Loud is the strongest hero there is. Too bad he can't officially be one since no one takes him seriously. As he continues to be a hero, he will fight boredom, monsters, villains, and the world of finance. With an older cyborg with too much time on her hands, Lincoln gets ready to go down the road of a hero for f- . . . professional hero. (One Punch Man AU)
1. Punch 1 : Pilot (The Strongest Hero)

The city was peaceful. Well, as peaceful as a city could be. The sounds were constant. Car horns, random words of strangers, and the rumbling of the train that ran through between the buildings. The Sun was espacially warm and bright today as Lincoln walked through the streets, not really paying much attention to those around him. He even ignored the ones who looked at him funny or mad comments when they saw what he was wearing. He had went out suddenly since there was nothing else to do, and in a rush put on his hero costume instead of normal clothes since he hadn't done laundry for a couple of days. It wasn't his fault, he just didn't have that much clothes. It was a combination of not really caring and not having enough money to own a bunch of clothes. Ever since he moved to Zendrant City, he had accepted one simple fact about this place.

The people here were jerks.

But that didn't really matter to him. He lived in an abandoned part of the city, and only came into populated areas to do hero work or shop. So he didn't have to deal with the people here that often. If he was being completely honest, he could get lonely at times, but he wasn't going to move anytime soon. The rent was too cheap to pass up, and the work he did as a hero didn't exactly pay him that much.

 _Wait_ , he thought, _it doesn't pay at all._

Besides, what did he care if people judged him just cause he was wearing a yellow jumpsuit. Or maybe it was because he was a kid all on his own in the middle of a large city, wearing a hero walked into his favorite supermarket, simply named..."Supermarket." He guessed the owners weren't trying that hard to actually get attention. Which was fine to him, since the low business meant less competition for the sales they had every other week or so. He grabbed a red basket on his way in and went straight to the back of the store, holding the basket by putting one forearm through both handles. He was running low on eggs and milk. As he thought about it, he had no idea where the money he got came from. He had not run out, but he hadn't made any effort to make more. It was one of the only mysteries in his life, and he decided not to question it.

Looking through the deli section, Lincoln picked up a package of uncooked crab meat. The only sounds present in the store was the soft music playing in the background that made him kind of sleepy and the rolling of two or three carts present. The store was relatively empty, even though a sale was going on. It was one of the perks of this place. He had virtually first pick on any item he wanted, which was important during a sale. He had been going to MalWart for a while, but he liked this place better. It had only the bare essentials and it was quicker to get in and out.

As he thought this, Lincoln stopped in the middle of the aisle and sighed, his white cape ruffling a bit behind him thanks to some phantom wind. It was then that he realized something.

 _I'm so bored_. He thought. It wasn't just today either, it was like this everyday. It was a pattern he had regrettably gotten used to in his life. He had virtually nothing to do all day except shop and fight the occasional monster if he was lucky. And even then it was really boring. He had lost contact with his family a couple of years ago. He still sent letters, but they never replied, and he never bothered buying a phone since he had no one to call or text. His t.v. was enough entertainment, but the only things he could play were cable news and an occasional D.V.D., but he had already watched all the movies in his house several times. _Let's just hurry up and pay for this._

As he thought that, suddenly the ground rumbled, and several explosions could be heard. He opened his eyes ins surprise as he felt that he was shaking. Looking around, he watched as the items around him flew off of their respective shelves and onto the floor. Screams erupted from both outside and inside the store, the clerks and costumers both fleeing from the store and heading left down the street. Curious now that something exciting was happening, he walked calmly outside and looked to the right.

Much of this part of the city was completely destroyed, dark rubble where buildings once stood. It looked like someone had taken a giant wrecking ball and completely squashed the city. Ominous dark clouds rose high above, nearly blocking out the sun and sky. The darkness had settled down on street level, making the destroyed area look menacing. Lincoln felt his spirits lift a little, looking at it.

 _There must be a really strong monster there._ He thought, and quickly walked into the danger zone.

* * *

Everything was destroyed. The buildings, the streets, the cars. The only thing left of the now ghost town was piles of broken concrete, metal, and glass. Two men laid unconscious on the ground. One sprawled on his back with read and yellow spandex, and a smiley face visible on the center of his chest. The other wearing black and yellow, with blonde spiky hair, laying on a large piece of concrete. In the distance, a large black figure could be seen walking away form the two heroes. A sudden flash of blue appeared, followed quickly by an explosion as another building was destroyed.

The figure continued to walk. It's size was no laughing matter. Nearly ten feet tall, covered with nothing but jet black muscle. It possessed no head, instead it had eyes in the middle of his chest and spike covered it's back. Where the neck should've met the head, instead was an opening the was closed by large sharp canine teeth, acting as the mouth of the monster. It's claws were almost comically large, as were the sharp endings of each toe that it had.

As it continued to walk, it could hear a sweet sound. The crying of a human. It purred at the sensation, the audible effect of pure fear and despair. Oh, how it gave him power. The spike on his back rustled, and the monster's steps quickened towards the source.

A young girl was standing there, all alone in the middle of all this destruction. She was holding her hands in her face, tears flowing through her hands, polluted with the dust and ash of what used to be a city full of life. The spikes on the monsters back rustled more as it took slow loud steps towards the child. It wanted her to know it was their, to feel the ultimate suffering as she stared death in the face and could do nothing. Soon the monster was standing right behind her. The girls cries stopped as she turned around. She looked between the legs of the monster. Her gaze slowly went up as her tear-stung eyes made contact with the endless lilac orbs on the monster's chest. The young girls eyes widened as she looked at the beast in front of her, fear completely over taking her so that she couldn't move.

The monster's spikes rustled uncontrollably, begging to be fed. A low laugh came from it's "mouth," as one large hand was raised next to the girls head. It's palm touched her ear, the first noticeable thing was how cold it was, despite it being in the middle of summer. Making sure to look her right in the eyes, it closed it's hands slowly so that her vision was cut off definite. The spikes rustled as the monster smiled, and without warning the hand closed with all it's might, creating a small shock wave of wind and a loud boom.

Wait. Where was the crunch? It couldn't feel any blood. This was not good, not good at all. It needed to be satisfied. It opened it's hand, and there was not a single trace of the girl to be seen.

"Hey, are you okay?" A voice. It was a male, not the girl who was about to satisfy it. The monster turned to where the man's voice had come from.

* * *

 _That was a close one_ , Lincoln thought, but didn't say out loud. Looking down at the small brunette girl he was carrying in his arms, she was frozen for a moment, before what had happened fully processed. Her face morphed from shock to grief, tears spilling out wildly. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Lincoln's neck. The white-haired man looked towards the small girl, whose face was buried in his neck. He let a small smile appear on his face, and gave her a comforting pat on the pack.

"It's fine now." He said in a quiet and comforting manner. "Let me take care of this monster real quick, and then I'll take you somewhere safe."

The girl did not answer, but let go of him. He set her sitting on a flat piece of concrete. He gave her a small smile before turning to the monster. His face morphed into a deadly look, stepping towards the monster.

"I was going to let you off easy." Lincoln said, clenching his fist. "But now, I guess that's just not an option."

The monster was not one for talking. The monster only had one thing in mind. Kill, kill, and kill some more. Nothing else mattered. Not every word in existence could give it the satisfaction that killing did. The monster pulled both his hands back, his claws extending longer than they already were. It's muscles bulged as it jumped at Lincoln, it's murderous intent almost becoming visible. Even so, the white-haired boy did not move a muscle. He just stared at the monster. The monsters arm swung forward, looking to crush the plain looking man with the force to level ten square miles.

Without warning, the young hero turned his body around in a complete 360. The movement was so fast, the monster could not see it. Confusion was the last thing it felt before a fist collided with it's chest. The top half of the monster suddenly exploded in a shower of blood and gore, all of it flying back away from Lincoln due the force. The legs of the monster fell back, colliding lifeless with the ground, leaving Lincoln with his fist extended out and a shocked expression on his face. The front of the red glove on his right fist was steaming as he was frozen from the moment.

 _"One punch again_ ," he whispered in disappointment, " _dang it._ " He turned to the small girl, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Hey, are you all right?" He said. She nodded, never taking her eyes off of him and never blinking. He stepped close to her and bent down slightly, making them eye level. "What's your name?"

"...Margo." She said. Lincoln gave her a small smile. He wasn't exactly sure what her reaction was, but he knew it was a good one.

"How old are you?" He asked. She blinked. Hesitant, he noted.

"I-I'm twelve." She stuttered. _Huh. She's not that much younger than me._ "H-how...how old are you?"

"Hmm?" He said questioningly. The girl jumped a little, and he wondered if he did something to scare her.

"I-I mean...you just don't look...old enough..." She started, but faded out.

"To be a hero?" He asked. The girl nodded. Lincoln stood up and looked out to the middle distance, scratching his left cheek with one finger. A habit he had picked up pretty soon in this city. "Actually, you're kinda right.I'm only fourteen." He said. He expected some response out of her, but when she was silent he looked at her. She was staring at him with wide eyes, tear stained cheeks, but she wasn't crying anymore. _Well, time to get her out of here._

Lincoln turned and bent his knees, holding both his arms slightly out to the side.

"Hop on." He said.


	2. Punch 2 (Twenty Three)

Lincoln jogged through the rubble of the city, carrying Margo on his back piggy-back style. He was lucky she was short for her age, or this could've been very uncomfortable for both of them. He quickly found himself back to civilization. Having already taken care of the monster, he found there was no reason to be on guard. The girl held his neck tightly, so much so that if he had done this three years earlier it would've choked him. As he ran, he saw where the sunlight shown past the clouds. The path they were taking was blocked by large wall of rock, at least twice Lincoln's height.

"Oh, a wall." He said, his voice uninterested. "Hold on." He told the girl behind him. Taking a ready step, he immediately hopped up and cleared the large pile of rubble. He flew slowly through a cloud of smoke, which enveloped and tried to follow as he broke through. He landed smoothly with the ground, continuing his jog as he slowed down to a walk.

" _HEY, THERE ARE SURVIVORS!_ " A man's voice yelled trough a microphone. Immediately they were swarmed by rescue workers, policemen and firemen. Lincoln gently set the girl on his back down, as she was taken away by a fireman and covered with a blanket.

"THANK YOU!" He heard her yell as she disappeared behind a sea people. He didn't have time to acknowledge what she said, or even give a reply, as she was already gone from view. Lincoln stared after the girl for a moment, before turning to the direction his apartment was in. She was safe, and that meant he had finished here.

"Guess I'll go home." He said to himself. He started to walk away before he was stopped by a police woman putting her hand on his shoulder. He turned to her, and as soon as he saw her his blank face turned into one of confusion.

"Young man." The middle-aged Japanese lady said, her loud voice only matched in size with her comically large butt chin. Her expression was one that screamed nothing but authority, an amount of seriousness that made this all the more awkward for Lincoln. "Are you all right?"

"...Uh, yeah." He said, his face not changing a bit as he continued to look at the woman.

"Do you know where you parents are?" She asked him. Lincoln found it hard to keep eye contact, as he kept being distracted by the woman's chin. _Is a chin like that even possible?_ He thought.

"Um, they don't live around here." He answered. They still lived in Michigan...which was about sixty thousand miles from where he was living at the moment. Yeah, Japan was pretty far from home. He wasn't completely sure about the distance, but to him it had to be a pretty good estimate. He got over his confusion and his face morphed back into it's normal bland expression. "Can I go now? I have to go shopping, and the sale I was just at was interrupted."

The police girl blinked, obviously caught off guard by the request by the fourteen year old. Normally, someone as young as him would be crying their eyes out. Yet this one acted like it was no big deal. Her expression became more stern, as she realized that he was obviously being sarcastic to her. He must've thought this wasn't a big deal.

"I can tell by your accent that you're a foreigner. How long have you lived in this country?" She asked him. Lincoln looked off into the middle distance, scratching his cheek with one finger as he thought.

"...two and a half years." He said, looking to her and putting his hand down. The whole time he kept his face neutral, and the police lady gave a single stern nod as a response.

"And where did you live before coming here?" She asked. Lincoln found himself confused by the turn of the questions being asked, but he decided that it probably wasn't that big of a deal.

"Michigan, in America." He said, his bland face completely unreadable.

"Of course." The lady said, to which Lincoln tilted his head in confusion. "I do not mean any offense, but being so young, you obviously don't fully understand the danger here."

"Yeah, there was a monster attack." Lincoln said. He was bored, and frankly was starting to get a little hungry. He had skipped lunch to make that sale, which annoyed him even more that it was interrupted by that monster.

"So you know what's going on. Do you simply not care about the people who have just lost their lives to that monster." The lady said, squinting at the boy. Lincoln frowned, now irritated.

"Why are you so worried about me? I'm just trying to do my job and go home." He said. The police woman scoffed audibly, which cause Lincoln to grit his teeth.

"So am I." She said.

"I already took care of the monster, so why are you even getting onto me?" He said. The lady raised a single eyebrow at him, and crossed her arms. Lincoln's jaw dropped. "...You don't believe me?"

"What is happening right now is no joke. You're lucky I don't take you in right now." She said. "You may be a child, but that does not give you an excuse to make up lies."

"But I did take care of it! I'm a hero!" Lincoln said, gesturing to his outfit. "See?!"

" _Akamine!_ " A man's voice yelled from somewhere behind Lincoln. The woman in front of him immediately saluted, becoming as stiff as a board. Lincoln turned and saw a man walking towards them. He was considerably older than Lincoln was, at least in his fifties. "Leave the kid be. He's obviously been through a lot. If he wants to play pretend, just let him."

"Yes, sir!" The police lady yelled, as Lincoln's eye twitched.

* * *

They had held him at the police station for a couple of hours, before they finally let him go. By the time he was outside, the sun was almost setting. Lincoln would've tried to go shopping again, but he wanted to wake up early to get a head start on his home-schooling. He couldn't afford to go to an actual school here, so he was forced to home-school himself. He had actually no idea how he got away with that, but it was better than sitting at home all day doing nothing. Lincoln sighed as he was walking down the street next to his apartment building, remembering how bad his day went.

 _I probably should have waited until I was a bit older to become a hero. At least then people would at least take me seriously._ He thought as he entered the complex through the front door. _This sin't the first time this has happened either. Every time i defeat a monster, no one even believes that I did it. It makes no sense!_ He started walk up the stairs.

"Because I'm so young, people either don't believe or just ignore me completely! It can't just be because of my age!" He spoke to himself. After a moment of silence, he sighed. "Great, now I'm in a bad mood. I couldn't even get groceries today."

He opened his door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. He had to consciously remind himself everyday to take off his shoes when he got inside. He lived here, so might as well respect their culture.

He went through this pattern everyday. He would come home, take off his superhero outfit, wash his gloves, and watch T.V. while he ate dinner. Which, today, was udon. Again.

The thing he hated most about his everyday life was...just the quiet. It was almost suffocating. He was lucky he had at least the T.V. to watch, or else he would've went insane a long time ago. He had grew up most of his life in an extremely loud house...no pun intended. It was just a thing he had accepted, and gotten used to. So living by himself was considerably more boring, but he endured it to be a hero.

At least at first.

When he first arrived here, he didn't like fighting at all. When he was eleven,h e imagined he would become sort sort of detective. And if not that, a private eye. One of the reasons he stayed here was because the monster attack rate was so high, he knew eventually he would have a run in with one.

He remembered his first encounter with a monster, one that had nearly taken both his life and his limbs. Some sort of weird dog-looking thing that had four long spider legs. It had attacked him while he was looking for his first apartment here, and in the end he beat it by throwing it off a cliff. But the fight had given him a pretty nasty scar on the bottom of his foot, and he only beat it by pure willpower and luck. As weak as he was at eleven, he never expected to actually win that fight. And to this day, he wasn't even sure if that thing was dead or not.

The most memorable thing about that fight was how it made him feel. It was exhilarating, to say the least. He had never felt so alive in his life. So he kept fighting monsters, and saving people. He had even come up with a workout regime to He had his fill of excitement, but over time, he became stronger. Too strong. It was more of a chore to him than anything nowadays. Don't get him wrong, he was satisfied with saving lives and protecting people, but he also yearned for that thrill again.

He wanted to be an "unstoppable hero of justice and peace." Now, he was doing it as more of a hobby.

Lincoln set down the empty bowl of noodles, watching a re-run that he had seen at least a hundred times already. Yawning, he laid on his side, making sure to take up as much space as possible on the cheep futon. It wasn't the most comfortable thing there was, but it was better than sleeping on the floor. Lincoln scratched his cheek as he stared uninterested at the T.V., laying in his stripe pajamas. He didn't really have many clothes in his wardrobe, but he made due.

As he laid there, his head propped up on his left hand, he started to doze off. He quickly grabbed a blanket and tossed it over his lower half. Turning off the T.V., he closed his eyes and let sleep take him...

...

...

...

" **BOOOM!** " A large explosion came from outside his apartment, causing Lincoln's eyes to shoot wide open, with the right one twitching a little. He took a deep breath. Not even a minute.

"...*sigh*Okay. Let's just see what it is." He said out loud. He sat up and tossed the blankets off of him, walking stiffly to the glass door of his balcony. Opening the blinds and door roughly, he walked out and leaned over the edge a little, an enraged face looking down onto the street. "HEY! WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, KNOCK IT-...huh?" His said, his poker-face returning.

There was a large object on the ground, pieces of what seemed to be metal strewn all around it. He couldn't see what it was from here, but he knew it was something important. Thinking quickly, he jumped down to the street, landing on his feet. He walked over to the object, looking down at it.

 _Huh. It's shaped kinda like a person. The left arm is_ _missing and the right leg._ He bent his knees down to get a closer look at it, tilting his head. The body was made of silver and metal, and where the head would be was a large amount of black...was that hair?

"Wait..." He said. He grabbed the right arm of the thing and gently flipped it over so he could see the body. Much to his surprise, it had a face. "...Is...is this a person? Hey!" He said loudly, tapping the pale face lightly with the back of his hand. "Wake up!"

"...huh?" The thing said, it's eye fluttering open. Lincoln froze.

 _That actually worked?_ He thought. Now that he could see it, the face of the...whatever it was...was very feminine. It looked similar to a human girl. Which would've been Lincoln's first guess had he not seen the body. Which, just to be clear, was completely metal. It's eyes seemed to be completely black, with yellow rings in the middle, which he guessed worked as the irises.

"Hey, are you human?" He asked it. The face looked at him confused, then it's eyes suddenly widened as it looked in every direction it could.

" **The monster. Where is it?** " The thing asked. It's voice definitely sounded human, Lincoln had to guess it was female. He looked around, but could see nothing but darkness.

"I don't see any monster." Lincoln said, turning back to the thing. "Are you, like, a cyborg?"

" **You need to get out of here.** " The 'cyborg' said. " **There's a dangerous monster near here. Your life is in danger.** "

"What? A monster? But it didn't say anything about that on the news." Lincoln said, his face not changing once.

" **Kid, this** **isn't-** " The cyborg cut itself of as it suddenly stared in one direction, it's face a mask of rage. Lincoln blinked in surprise, turning to where it looked.

The monster was a little bit larger than the first one, but looked the exactly the same as the one he faced earlier today. The claws, spikes, eyes, skin. It was almost an exact copy.

Lincoln stood, frowning at the thing. _That's weird. I've never heard of two monsters looking exactly the same. Must be it's brother, or some kind of clone._ The spikes on the monsters back started to shake wildly, sounding like bones hitting against each other.

" **Kid, run away!** " The cyborg said. Lincoln's eye twitched at the word "kid." " **This thing could destroy the entire city! The best thing for you to do is run while it's focused on me!** "

"If it can destroy an entire city, what good would running away do me now?!" He yelled at the cyborg, turning to face it. "Besides, I'm a hero! I'm not going to run away!"

" **Now is not the time to be playing make-believe! You are in dan-** " The cyborg started, when Lincoln decided he had enough. Making a sort of yell-grunt noise in frustration, he turned to the monster, walking towards it in irritation. The monster, not recognizing the threat in front of him, decided to try and attack the cyborg. It started in a run forward, looking to plow through the boy and to the enemy on the ground.

"I'm in a bad mood." Lincoln said, more to himself than the monster. After the day he had, he needed something to relieve the stress. "Don't disappoint me now."

Before the monster could even blink, the white-haired teen was right in front of it. Noticing it's mistake, it tried to stop and attack. Before it could even comprehend what was going on Lincoln cocked a fist back and sent it flying at the monster. The fist collided with it's chest, ending in a spray of blood that was aimed away from the hero. Lincoln expected this outcome, but it didn't make it any less disappointing. He only had one request, just one.

 _This is my life now,_ he thought.

He stood there for a moment, his legs apart, one fist cocked back and one placed forward, smoke rising of it. With a sigh, he turned and walked back to the cyborg. It was looking straight at him, eyes and jaw wide open. It was even shaking a little bit. It was similar to the way that girl looked at him earlier. What was her name? Mary...Marco...

Standing in front of the cyborg, he wanted to be mad and yell at it. But, from the state it was in right now, he decided it had been through enough. Lincoln sighed, letting all of his frustration for with that breath.

"Here, let me help you." Lincoln said. He bent down and picked the cyborg up by it's waist, putting it over his shoulder. She was taller than him, so her face was near his knee. Still, it didn't stop him from walking, albeit slowly and kind of awkwardly. "So, you're a cyborg." It was more of a statement than a question. He had figured it pretty easy on his own, since it acted more human than robot just a minute ago. To be honest, he probably should've known from the start.

" **...Yes.** " She answered, not moving a bit as he carried her to the front of his apartment complex. " **My name is twenty-three.** "

"That's neat. Name's Lincoln."


	3. Punch 3 (Hero Registry)

Lincoln sat on his futon, blindly watching the news as the broken cyborg sat next to him. She was staring at the T.V. as well, although Lincoln had a feeling she was not actually seeing it. The awkward atmosphere was almost unbearable, and Lincoln felt that he, as the "host" to this guest, should try to break it. For both their sakes. He cleared his throat, catching the cyborg's attention.

"So, who exactly did you call earlier?" He asked, not looking at her. He had let her use the phone earlier to call someone, although he didn't know who. He wanted to make sure he wasn't inviting some weirdo into his home.

" **Dr. Evans.** " She said. " **A brilliant American scientist, and my creator.** "

"Oh, really?" Lincoln asked. "Does he have a criminal record?" the cyborg looked at him with an appalled face.

" **NO!** " She yelled. Lincoln gave a single nod.

"Okay, just checking." He said, looking back at the movie that he had put on T.V.. He forgot what it was called, since he never bothered looking at the titles anymore, but he knew it had something to do with Russian spies in space. As ridiculous as it sounded, it was better than staring at the news all day.

" **Dr. Evans is one of the most noble men on the planet. He saved my life when I was just a child.** " Lincoln looked at her.

"Okay, I belie-"

" **I was fifteen years old. My home had been completely obliterated by a ESPer villain named 'Psych.' He had not only killed my entire family, but taken my arms and legs. My entire body below my neck was scarred beyond recognition. Dr. Evans found me and saved all he could, my head and a few vital organs left untouched by that monster in a man's body.** " Lincoln chuckled nervously, not wanting to show how uninterested he really was.

"Well...that's really sad and all, but you didn't have to tell me your back-" He was interrupted again.

" **Psych was never caught, by the police or any hero. I have made it my mission in life to become as strong as possible, and bring him down in a way that will ensure he never hurts anyone again.** "

"...Are you finished?" He asked, looking at her. She gave him a simple nod as an answer. "Okay...so what time is this Dr. Evans getti-"

" **I have a question for you.** " She said. Lincoln closed his eyes, sighing quietly in exasperation.

" _I swear to god._ " He whispered, before looking at the cyborg. "Yes?"

" **How can you be so strong, yet so young?** " She asked. Lincoln rolled his eyes before looking back at the T.V.

"I just trained really hard, and fought a lot of monsters. I don't see what age has to do with anything."

" **Many adults have put themselves through the conditions that you have described, yet they would have been completely obliterated by the monster you vanquished.** "

"I'm telling you, that's all I did." Lincoln said, barely paying attention. There was a moment of silence, although it did not last very long.

" **Just how old are you, Linoln-tan?** " There was something in her voice close to amusement. Lincoln's eye twitched.

"I'm fourteen! I'm not a freaking kid!" He said in an almost-yell. 23 seemed not to hear that last part.

" **How old were you when you first became this strong?** "

"You talk too much. What's with all the questions?" He asked with annoyance, looking at the cyborg. She did not answer, so Lincoln sighed and submitted, his face returning to it's neutral state. "I was eleven when I first started my training."

" **But...that's so young**." She said with a shocked expression. Lincoln scratched his face.

"I guess it is, actually." He said. He then frowned at 23. "But don't make a big deal out of it!"

" **I understand, it's just...I do not wish to meet the parents who allowed their child to put themselves in danger that way.** " She said, frowning. Lincoln chuckled nervously.

"Actually...they don't...really...know." He said slowly, looking away and trying to act natural.

" **...What? How could they not possibly know what their child does in their own house?** " She said.

"It's my house, damn it!" He yelled at her. He crossed his arms with a sigh. "Before I came here, my mom got an offer by some random book company here in Japan to be a 'residential writer,' at the cost of a couple hundred dollars as a 'placement fee.' They were so excited, they didn't realize that it was completely fake."

" **It even sounds fake. I don't see how anyone could be fooled into believing something so...ludicrous.** " Lincoln momentarily glanced to the side away from 23.

"Although I don't like to say it, my parents do have their...less than intelligent moments." He said, looking back at her. "The only one who didn't seem to believe it was Lisa, my sister." He sighed. "When someone who's smarter than ninety percent of the population tells you something's up, you should probably listen to them. Even I was fooled for a while."

" **So your family was scammed into coming here.** " She said, nodding as if she had gotten it spot on.

"...Not exactly." He said. "Those scammers got their money, and my parents even bought plane tickets. We showed up, but somehow, I ended up being the only one boarding. I still don't know what happened."

" **...That is the most incredulously silly chain of events I have ever heard.** " 23 said. Lincoln could do nothing but nod in agreement. " **So your parents just left you here?** "

"Actually, no. They tried to get me back, but the plane tickets were nun-refundable. They spent over a thousand dollars trying to get over here, and in the end they didn't have enough to bring me back."

" **Are they that poor?** " 23 asked.

"No. Three months after I got here, they finally scraped enough money to get me back, after the police and the government wouldn't send me back for whatever weird reason. But by then, I had this apartment, and I had already defeated my first monster. After fighting that first one, I was hooked. I decided to stay here, and get an education. I learned the language pretty quickly, as it was essential to my survival. My parents were obviously against it. I don't know how in the world I ended up convincing them. They blamed themselves for at least six months for me getting 'trapped' over here."

" **I see.** " 23 said. " **Well, given your strength, I am a little more at ease. Still, after this, I would hope they decide not have any more children besides the two they have.** " Lincoln had to choke down his laugh at hearing this, covering his mouth with a fist at his mistake. The cyborg looked at him confused. " **W** **hat?** "

"Nothing, just...nothing." He said with a smile, waving it off.

" **Okay.** " She said. She was silent for another moment. Lincoln watched her as she scanned the apartment. " **You seem to be very humble.** "

"What do you mean?" Lincoln asked.

" **You're a hero, are you not?** " She asked. Lincoln nodded. " **Given your strength, I assume you are a very popular hero, and must get a sizable payment.** "

"Wait a second, I can get paid?!" Lincoln said, standing up at that revelation. The cyborg was silent for a moment

" **Are you not a part of the Hero Association?** "

"...The what now?" He asked.

* * *

Lincoln clicked on the link, taking him to a website for the Hero Association. He had went to the library, leaving 23 alone to wait for Dr. Evans. As he clicked the last link, he final came to the homepage of the before mentioned "Hero Association." He read what he saw out loud, to help him follow along. The written language was something that he didn't practice often, and he found himself often confused at what was written.

"Take a test at any local branch of the Hero Association. If you score better than the cut-off, you will be registered in the Hero Registry and will be allowed to officially call yourself a 'hero.' Once you are recognized by the Association, you are deemed a pro and will get paid from donations collected by the Association. All heroes in the public eye are registered, professional heroes. You may be doing plenty of hero work, but self-proclaimed heroes are really just weir...does...spouting nonsense...viewed with suspicion."

 _...This is a professional hero agency?_ He thought. He sighed, putting his elbows on the table, folding his hands together in front of his face.

"All this time, that's why they were looking at me like that." He said, remembering all the people who gave him weird looks on the street. "Great. Well, If I take that test, at least I can get paid. Maybe then I can get enough food to last me more than a week."

After finding the time and date of the next hero test, he clicked off the website and stood up, walking out of the library. As he walked out, he thought about what would happen now that he would be a professional hero. He would probably get worldwide recognition or something. He would have to mail his parents before they found out a different way, but they would understand. Hopefully.

As he walked down the street, he noticed that it finally got dark. He decided to hurry home. He broke into a jog, watching the buildings move past him at a pace he only ever experienced when he was riding in a car. His strength now was a part of him, as much as it ever was. But sometimes it still tripped him out a little bit. Like any day he would wake up and realize it was only a dream.

Yet every morning he woke up as powerful as the day before.

He wasn't self-absorbed. His strength didn't make him feel like he was better than anyone. In his eyes, he was no different from anyone else. And his strength, it was a responsibility. A responsibility protect those that he could. He was a hero.

"Hmm?" He asked, seeing something out of the corner of his eye that interrupted his thoughts. He stopped running and looked towards his left, to see a purple streak flying through the sky. It was gonna fairly quickly, and Lincoln was left standing there, watching it disappear. He stood there for a moment after it was gone. "A star?"

* * *

"I'm back." He said, walking into his apartment, reminding himself to take his shoes off. When he was met with silence, he looked to the couch and saw that it was empty, not even a metal scrap left. "Oh, she left."

He walked to the couch and sat down, the T.V. off and the lights dimmed down. He sat there, the weight of the loneliness and silence pushing down on him once again.

"...Kind of quiet." He said to himself. He turned on the T.V. to the news and laid down on his side. One leg up and his head propped on his arm. As the news played on, he was left to his thoughts. He wondered why that cyborg was so interested in his life, but he decided it must not be that important. He laid there bored as the light of the T.V. illuminated the small apartment. It was a couple of minutes before he turned it off."...I guess I'll go to sleep now."

This time he laid down, not even bothering to change as he covered himself with the blanket. This time, he had no intention of getting up until morning.

...

...

...

 _Okay, good. Sleep now._


	4. Punch 4 (An Annoying Girl)

_Knock, knock, knock._

"...Huh?" Lincoln said as he woke. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and sat up. He let out a large yawn, arching his back as he let it out. When it was finished, he bent forward, smacking his dry lips as he tasted his own morning breath. _Food,_ he thought as he stood up. He shuffled over to his small fridge, opening it up as he grabbed some leftover cooked crab meat. He took a bite out of it as he scratched the top of his head.

 _Knock, knock, knock_. The sound now got through to him, waking him up completely. He turned to the door with confusion. He never gave his family his address, so it wouldn't be them. And the mail company never came by here, much less up to his door.

" **Lincoln-tan**." He heard the robotic voice say. He blinked in surprise.

"Oh. She's back." He said. He walked over to the door, and opened it. Standing in the door way at least a foot over him was Twenty-three, looking down on him. She was wearing actual clothes now, a black hoodie with dark jeans and boots. Her dark eyes seemed a little different today, though. Though it interested him for a second, he waved it off as just something that she did.

" **Hello again, Lincoln-tan**." She said.

"Hey, you came b-"

" **I returned because I could not in good conscience leave you alone.** " She said. Lincoln did not take not of that.

"Do you usually interrupt pe-"

" **Not usually, no.** " She said. Lincoln was silent for a moment, waiting to see if she was going to talk again.

"One, if you're gonna be coming around here, you gotta stop that. Right now." He said. Twenty-three looked down.

" **I see.** " She said. Lincoln scratched his cheek.

"So, what are you doing here?" He asked. Twenty-three perked up at that question.

" **I would like to live with you.** " She said. Lincoln blinked, then frowned in annoyance.

"You came over just to free load?" He said. Twenty-three shifted in confusion.

" **No, not at all. Being so young, I do not feel comfortable leaving you here to live on your own, no matter how strong you are. This time in your life is one were human interaction and companionship is a necessity. For your health, I shall live with you and be your friend.** " She said. Lincoln blinked.

"Still sounds off to me." He said. Twenty-three shook her head.

" **I would pay half of the bills and rent, as well as do the shopping three days of the week and take over half of the chores.** " She said. Lincoln sighed. Even though it still sounding like she was just looking for a place to stay to him, he really could use the extra source of money around here. He couldn't live off ramen and udon his whole life. Still...

"You don't have to live with me to be my friend, you know." He said. Twenty-three nodded once.

" **Yes, I understand that.** " She said. " **However, your are under the legal age to be able to rent housing, much less pay bills and not attend school.** "

"I'm home-schooled." Lincoln said.

" **There needs to be an adult to teach you at home.** " She said. Lincoln was silent for a moment.

"...I am self-taught." He said with fake confidence, glancing nervously to the side.

" **Should the authorities discover your living conditions, you will most likely be evicted and put into a foster home, or sent back to your family.** " Lincoln looked at the cyborg with confusion, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Then why not just tell them yourself? Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" He said.

" **From what I have heard from former foster children, it is not a healthy environment to be in. And...I do not want you to go back to your family. I fear that you will suffer form similar neglect in the future.** " She said. Lincoln looked at her for a moment before sighing in defeat.

"I guess I don't have much choice do I?" He wasn't really asking her, more talking to himself. "...Fine, I guess."

" **Thank you.** " She said, and bowed slightly. " **You will not regret this.** "

"Yeah, sure. Just don't break anything!" He said, pointing his finger at her.

" **Yes!** " She yelled, and he sighed.

"It's too early for this." He said. He turned to grab some clothes from his closet. "Come on in, I guess. You live here now."

" **Thank you.** " She said, coming in and sitting on the unmade futon, not caring for the messy blanket in her way.

Lincoln entered the bathroom, going through his morning ritual. There were few good things about living by himself. One of them was that he no longer had to wait in that ridiculously long line to get his turn, so he didn't have to worry about using up the hot water...most of the time. It took him around an hour to get ready on a good day in here, the only reason was because he could. He hated to rush in the mornings when he was eleven and younger, so this was a welcome change in his life. However, he figured he should hurry since he had Twenty-three. As he brushed his teeth, he looked at himself in the mirror, bags under his eyes.

 _I wonder what'll happen now._ He thought to himself.

He had planned to participate in the next series of test tomorrow at noon, and if fate was good he would. He wondered if they would let him, or just take him for some silly kid...again.

" **Lincoln-tan?!** " He herd Twenty-three call form the living room. Lincoln rinsed out his mouth, spitting a mix of water and toothpaste into the sink.

" _Why '-tan?'_ " He asked himself in almost a whisper. "YES?!" He yelled loud enough for her to hear.

" **Have you decided on whether or not you are joining the Association?!** " The cyborg asked him.

"Yeah, I was going to take the test tomorrow!" He said. "Hey, you're in the Association, right?!"

" **That is correct!** " She said. He started changing his clothes, taking off his pajamas and putting on a plain white t-shirt and jeans.

"Any advice or anything on the test?!"

" **I have no doubt you'll do exemplary on the physical exam, so I suggest you study for the written exam!** " Lincoln splashed water on his face, making sure to scrub it deeply to get any dirt he might have gotten while he was asleep on it. He didn't feel like taking a shower this morning. He figured he was just take one tonight before he went to bed.

"There's a written exam?!" Lincoln yelled out.

" **Yes. It's usually about the laws of the country, the heroics policy, and so forth!** " She said.

 _Oh, I thought it was something academic._ He thought. _Though, there might be a bit of that mixed in there._

"Good to know! I should get studying then!" He said. He opened the bathroom door and stepped out, making sure to turn off the light behind him. Last time he forgot, it short-circuited his entire apartment. He didn't even know how that was possible.

" **I could assist you, if you like.** " Twenty-three said. " **I'm right here if you need help.** "

"What's with you acting buddy-buddy all of a sudden?" He asked. Twenty-three just shrugged in response, confusing Lincoln more. Lincoln sighed in exasperation. This was his life now. Well, better get her started. "A few ground rules. There are four shelves in the fridge and four cabinets. We get two each. Sunday through Tuesday, I clean the bathroom and living room, you get kitchen and balcony. Wednesday through Friday, it's reversed."

" **What about the living space?** " The female cyborg asked.

"Right. Obviously, I sleep on the futon. There's a room filled with a bunch of old boxes and stuff that never got picked up, so I guess we'll have to clear that out and get you a bed-"

" **Wait, if there's another room, why have you not started using it?** " She asked. Lincoln shrugged.

"Never found a reason to." He said.

" **Well, I insist you take the room. I'm a legal adult, where as you-** "She started, but Lincoln interrupted her.

"Who cares how old you are?!" He yelled, causing her to blink in surprise. Lincoln crossed his arms and frowned. "Besides, I have experience living with girls of all ages. It's better to give them their own personal space."

" **Still, I could not in good conscience-** "

"My house, my rules!"

" **...All right!** "

"Good. Now, the light in the bathroom's faulty, so if you leave it on too long, we'll lose all power in here for a while." He said. The cyborg nodded in understanding. "Don't nail anything to the walls, and don't scratch them up. The T.V. only gets news, and the far left part of the stove doesn't work."

" **Okay.** " She said. Lincoln put a hand on his chin, trying to see if there was anything he was missing. " **Lincoln-tan, when was the last time you went shopping?** "

"Oh, I tried to go yesterday, but I had to do some hero work and ended up missing a sale." He said.

" **Then, as your new room-mate, allow me to buy this week's groceries!** " She stood up, holding a fist in the air as if she was delivering some heroic speech. Her eyes shined with as much determination as they could convey, her face stolid. Lincoln blinked, his face neutral. " **I have recently seen a small sale for a market in Granda City!** "

"Okay."

* * *

" **But that doesn't make any sense!** " She yelled, catching the attention of several nearby shoppers. " **Why would they sell hot-dogs and hot-dog buns in an unmatched quantity!** "

"I knew we should've stayed away form the international markets." Lincoln said, somewhat aware that Twenty-three wasn't listening. Lincoln grabbed a package of hot dogs and put them in his basket, making his way to the next isle.

" **We would have to buy 12 bags of hot-dog buns and nine packages of hot-dogs to even it out!** " Lincoln was about to say something, but there was a certain product on display that caught his eye.

"Hey, you said you get paid a lot, right?" He asked the cyborg, who took this time to turn away from her shopping troubles.

" **That is correct. Why?** " Lincoln pointed over to the product.

"Could you do me a favor and buy that?" He said.

" **...A rice cooker?** " She asked, confused. The rice cooker was set up on a glass display, surrounded by boxes of its brethren. To Lincoln, it was like an answer to an old prayer he forgot. It was had a bunch of buttons, and was small enough to be portable.

"What? Cooking rice in a pan is a pain. It's got a lot of different functions that would save me a lot of trouble." She said.

" **Oh, right. I forgot that you cook your own meals.** " She sounded a little down at that, but Lincoln barely noticed. " **I see no problem in purchasing that.** "

"Thanks, Twenty-three." He said, walking towards the display.

As he picked up the box carrying his new kitchen accessory, he heard a girlish squeal. Flinching in surprise, he turned and was shocked to see a small army of people were crowding Twenty-three, who seemed completely uncomfortable with all the new-found attention she was getting. Lincoln's face was neutral as the people started barraging her with a flurry of compliments and questions.

"Oh my god, it's Demon Cyborg!" The girl, who Lincoln thought was the one who squealed, said in an annoyingly high-pitched voice.

"The S-Class?!" One man said.

"I heard she was pretty, but this is incredible!" An old man said.

"Give me your autograph!"

"How is it to be a hero so strong?!"

As the people started to gather more, Lincoln just stood and stared at this spectacle. It was obvious that Twenty-three had no idea how to react or what to say, so she just stood frozen in spot, not moving an inch. She tried to be un-moved by this embarrassing scene, donning an intimidating guise as she hoped to scare the crowd away. While it was obvious to him what her intentions were, everyone else wasn't as perceptive as him.

"She looks so cool! She looks like she's about to go into battle!"

"Marry me!"

 _Guess she's busy_ , Lincoln thought with a mischievous smile as he walked away with his share of the groceries. _Hope she's gonna be okay_.

"Man, she's surrounded by people." He heard someone say. Glancing to the side, he was a girl no older than him standing in the middle of the market. She was shorter than him and wore a black dress that did almost nothing to cover her legs. "And after all this time I took to find her." Her curly green hair seemed to be constantly moving, even though there was no breeze inside this building. Lincoln stared at the strange girl, who seemed to finally realize that she was being stared at. "What the hell are you looking at?!" She yelled at him. Lincoln blinked in surprise.

 _She's rude._ He thought. She crossed her arms and glared at him, turning her whole body to face him.

"Well?!" She yelled again. He blinked, trying to figure out what to say to this bizarre character. "Are you just gonna keep staring at me, brat?!"

"...You're weird." Lincoln said. Normally, he would have been completely livid at someone calling him a brat...but not someone who was probably only a year older than him. The girl froze for a second, before her glare came back and she screamed louder.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU WINTER RABBIT?!" She yelled. Lincoln's eye twitched.

" **Lincoln-tan! Could you please help me?!** " He heard Twenty-three yelled. He looked over to her, seeing she was almost engulfed in the crowd. She looked so nervous she could pop at any moment. Lincoln had to keep himself form laughing. He forgot completly about the girl next to him

"Don't worry! You're doing great!" He said, smiling a little. She didn't answer as she glanced nervously around herself. "Just try not to be afraid! They can smell fear!"

" **Liiiincoooooln-taaan!** " She said. Somehow, the crowd still did not sense her nervousness, as they were too mesmerized by being around her to actually try and listen to her.

"Wow, I had no idea she was so popular." He said to himself. The girl next to him scoffed.

"I had no idea a shit-faced brat like you was so stupid." She said. Lincoln's eye twitched once again, and he frowned.

"Just what's your problem anyway?" He said, turning to her.

"My _problem_ is that some creepy kid was staring at me." She harrumphed (like, she almost _said_ the word "harrumph") and turned her head.

"You looked weird, that's all." He said, turning to see how Twenty-three was doing.

"Like you're one to talk!" She yelled, turning and pointing at him all at once.

"And who're you calling a kid. You're not that much older than me." Lincoln said, preparing to leave this annoying girl behind.

"I'm twenty-eight years old!" She yelled, her arms extended to the ground, ending in fists, a wild blush of anger spread over her face. Lincoln raised an eyebrow, but walked away without another word. Like he would believe something like that. There was no way in hell she was twenty-eight.

"Okay, here I come Twenty-three." He said, pushing his way slowly and carefully through the crowd. There were shouts of "Hey, wait your turn." And "What's the big deal?" Lincoln ignored them and pushed through. When he got to the final layer of the crowd, he found that they lest a small open area around Twenty-three. At least these people were smart enough not to try and touch her. He didn't know how strong she was, but he knew it was enough to hurt a normal person badly. And they knew that, too.

" ** _Lincoln-tan, thank god!_** " She whispered. Over the loud praises of the crowd, he could barely hear her. Even though she was still wearing that fierce mask, her whole body quaked, and she looked like she was about to burst. Lincoln sighed, and grabbed her wrist.

"Come on, let's go."He said, dragging her hesitant body along. The crowd became confused with the sight of this, but were soon distracted by something else.

"...Wait...IS THAT S-CLASS RANK 2!" Someone yelled.

"Wow! Two S-classes in one day! This store is amazing!"

"She looks so scary in person!"

Lincoln couldn't see who they were talking about, but he was glad that the attention was on them and not on Twenty-three anymore. The people started to gather around this other person, allowing Lincoln to quickly slip Twenty-three past them.

"Get the hell off of me!" That familiar voice yelled. Lincoln would have stopped to recognize it, if he hadn't been so focused on paying for his items and leaving. He brought the cyborg to the cash register, who looked like she was about to burst at any given moment. He put their groceries on the conveyor, and reached for his wallet.

"This week's shopping was actually pretty cheap, so I guess I'll pay for it. You've been through enough today, I think." He said. Twenty-three did not answer, as she started to hyperventilate.

"Hey, there's Twenty-three again!" Someone yelled. Lincoln looked behind Twenty-three to see the crowd running towards them, kicking up dust as they made their way through the store.

"*Sigh* Let's go."

* * *

As they walked down the busy streets, catching the attention of almost every person they passed, Twenty-three had her head bowed.

" **I'm so sorry!** " She said. Lincoln waved her off.

"Don't be. If I was always bothered by people like that, I'm sure I would get upset, too." He said.

" **I wasn't upset. I was terrified.** " She said. " **And no matter how I felt, we had to abandon all the precious groceries, and your rice cooker! I am nothing but a burden on you!** "

"Stop being sot melodramatic. It's weird." Lincoln said, looking around for a new market to shop at. One that preferably was not busy. He didn't feel like running all the way back home to get groceries.

 _But I'll have to run home anyways._ He thought to himself.

" **Still, I feel bad. This is not the first time this has happened, Akio.** " She said, lowering her head more in dejection. Lincoln glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"My name's Lincoln." He said. She perked up immediately, her face not doing anything to hide her embarrassment.

" **R-right! Lincoln.** " She laughed awkwardly, before letting her head fall down again. " **I'm no good around big groups of people, so I usually like to stay alone.** " Lincoln looked at her for a second. Thinking back, he realized he wasn't that different. He looked forward to make sure he didn't trip.

"I kinda get that. I'm no good with a lot of attention, either." He said as he walked. Twenty- three looked at him for a moment, then faced forward, smiling a little.

" **I see.** "

"DEMON!" Someone yelled. Twenty-three jumped slightly, a look of panic on her face. Lincoln blinked in confusion, and turned to see where the voice was coming from.

The annoying girl with the green hair was coming this way, stepping fast. She had an angry pout on her face, and she seemed to somewhat glow in a green aura. Lincoln immediately frowned.

"Oh, it's her again." He said. Twenty-three said nothing as she turned, a look of fake content on her face. The green-haired girl stopped a couple feet from them, and crossed her arms.

" **He-Hello, Tatsumaki.** " She said. " **I would understand how you could be upset-** "

"You're damn right I'm upset!" The girl yelled. "Our six-month anniversary was yesterday, and I don't even get a text!"

 _Anniversary?_ Lincoln thought in shock. _Don't tell me Twenty-three is dating this weird kid._ Unconsciously, Lincoln took a step away fro the cyborg. Twenty-three noticed this, and looked to the white-haired boy in panic.

" **She's older than she looks!** " She yelled desperately at him. Lincoln just gave her a side glance.

"Pervert."

" **It's not perverted!** "

"And why the hell and you hanging out with this buck-tooth brat?" Lincoln gritted his teeth as he looked at Tatsumaki with fire in his eyes.

"Who are you calling a brat, midget?!" He yelled back at her.

"What the hell did you say?! You're only a foot taller than me!" She yelled, leaning forward to put more power in her scream, uncrossing her arms.

" **Please, stop. People are staring.** " Twenty-three said. Lincoln looked around and saw that it was true. A small crowd had gathered around, and were all staring at what was bound to be a spectacle to witness. Lincoln honestly could care less if people stared, but he didn't want to deal with Twenty-three having another nervous breakdown. So, Lincoln dejected him to defeat, sighing.

"Fine. I'm gonna go shopping back home. You can handle whatever it is you're doing here." He said.

" **Right. I'll be back in about two hours.** " She said. He started walking, but suddenly thought of another rule to say, turning his head slightly to face her.

"Oh, and I better not come home one day and catch you doing anything...weird." He said. Twenty-three blushed hard.

" **I'm not perverted!** " She yelled desperately. Lincoln faced forward.

"Sure." He simply stated, before blasting off to Zendrant City.

As he ran, the buildings blurred around him, becoming a simple part of the background. He was sure he bothered a few people as he made his way, but he was only focused on getting as far away from that pervert as possible.

 _Geez, if I'd known she was into that kinda stuff, I would have never let her stay with me._ He thought.

* * *

He was about ten seconds away from his usual market, when he saw another purple streak in the sky. Blinking in surprise, he stopped, looking at the sky where it had appeared.

There. He saw it again. It was too close to be a star, and in the middle of the day. He was going to keep going to the shop, but now he was too curios. Without missing a beat, he jumped up on top of the building as started to make his way over to where the streak was.


	5. Punch 5 (Purple Rocker and Red Death)

Lincoln stopped on top of the building, looking up at the sky. There it was again. That purple streak was there, flying around. And there was a red streak, too. It crisscrossed with the purple one, and every once in a while they would clash together, making a large explosion. Lincoln blinked in surprise, watching it with curiosity. Was it monsters, or a hero of some kind?

Suddenly, he saw a red ball fly at him. He blinked in surprise as he stepped lazily to the side, dodging it. The concrete next to him exploded as the ball came into contact with it. The top of the building was gone, and he fell about ten stories down to the ground. He collided with it feet first, the concrete of the sidewalk breaking into a large series of cracks under the pressure, his feet dug into it about three inches.

 _Should've punched it_. He thought, as he stepped up out of the holes his feet was trapped in. He looked up and saw the two streaks still going at it. They clashed again, and the purple one was suddenly flying at him. He tensed his arm, getting ready to punch the oncoming streak. It was getting closer, and he saw that it was only slightly larger than him. Oh well, that just meant it was easier for him to hit. It was almost to him now. He cocked his arm back, his face's features suddenly twisting into a serious look as he readied for it.

Suddenly, it stopped a few feet from him. The rare serious look he held was gone in an instant, replaced with confusion. The source of the streak was close to him now, and all he felt was shock as he looked at it.

In the center of all that purple was a girl, taller than him, she looked to be around twenty-three's age (which is nineteen, not the actual _age_ twenty-three, for those who get confused often). She was wearing an almost completely ripped cut-off t-shirt with metal studs, leather jeans and large boots. Her hair was somewhat spiky, and flowing. She was surrounded by an almost fire-like substance that was completely purple. In her hand she held of all things a guitar, that itself was covered with a black fire-like substance as well.

The girl was breathing heavily, the instrument shaky in her hand.

"Damn it." He heard her say. Strangely it was in English. "Not strong enough yet."

" _I keep trying to tell you_ _!_ " He heard someone yell from above in that same language. He blinked in surprise the red streak came down quickly. It was another girl, this one with blonde hair, covered in red instead of purple. "That instrument is holding you back. You keep channeling all your energy into it, but it's using much more than you really can afford."

Great, now they were just talking about random things. He sighed inwardly, with all the annoyance he could muster. Then he remembered the building behind him. He turned around and looked up. The top half of it was gone, smoke rising up in billows from random places where there should have been walls and floors. His jaw dropped as he realized the amount of money that would be charged. Thank goodness it wasn't to him this time. He turned back around and looked at the two glowing girls.

"HEY!" He yelled at them in Japanese. If he did that, he would be able to tell if they were foreigners or not, depending on their knowledge of the language and accents. It was honestly a shaky plan, but it was good for something used on the spot. They both jumped in surprise and turned to face him. "You better pay for that! And it's not cheap, either!" The two girls just looked at him blankly, their fire going away. He looked at them in confusion when he saw that their clothes matched the colors they had just been surrounded by.

" _Do you know what he's saying?_ " The blonde one said, attempting to whisper to the purple girl.

" _No clue._ " The other one said. "...He...he looks familiar."

"Yeah." She said. "Didn't he look like a rabbit, too?"

"WHO YOU CALLING RABBIT?!" He yelled at them, this time in English. His eye twitched as he frowned at them, and they both jumped.

"Oh...sorry. I, uh, didn't mean anything by it." The blonde one said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. Lincoln made somewhat of a growling noise in response.

"As I was saying, you guys better pay for that!" He said, pointing to the building behind him. The blonde one looked up at it and sweat-dropped, gulping audibly under a nervous smile.

"...R-Right...Actually, we're...kinda broke." She said. Lincoln sighed and closed his eyes.

"Of course you are." He said. When he opened his eyes, his face had returned to its neutral state. "...Never mind. I guess it doesn't concern me."

"...Uhh...Okay." The blond one said. She stepped forward to the the purple one and grabbed her arm. "Hey, let's go."Lincoln looked at the purple one, who was just gaping at him. He didn't really react, except to wonder what her problem was.

"One more thing." He said. "Are you guys heroes, or villains?"

"...we're heroes in training!" The blonde one seemed to perk up at that, releasing the purple one from her grasp and crossing her arms over her chest, poking it out and smiling widely. There seemed to be some unnoticed golden aura around this girl, her pride and ego swelling to maximum. Lincoln blinked.

"Oh, okay. Just wondering." He said. He turned and walked off to the side. He had to go shopping, he almost forgot. He was glad these guys weren't villains, but he didn't exactly approve of the wanton destruction just for some training. He understood if you had to do it in the desert, but in the city? Still, he was busy enough, and he'd given them enough of a scare. It wasn't anyways, so he guessed he would just let the government pay for it. Still, they should've trained outside of any city if they were going to cause this much damage. If they did it again, he would have to teach them a lesson.

"Wait!" One of them yelled. Lincoln turned his head to see the purple one running close up to him. "What's your name?!"

"My name?" He asked her, turning the rest of his body. "Oh, it's-"

" **Lincoln-tan!** " He heard twenty-three's voice yell out. He blinked and turned to his left, to see her rocketing towards him. She was leaning forward while flames burst out of her hands and feet. " **There you are!** "

"Twenty-three?" He asked her, switching to Japanese. "Were you looking for me? I wasn't even gone for ten minutes."

" **I do not approve of you wandering by your own this late at night.** "

"It's eight."

" **A-class heroes, rank 27 Purple Rocker and rank 10 Red Death.** " The cyborg asked him, stepping between him and the purple one, staring her down. The purple girl looked confused, but quickly met the cyborg's glare.

"A-class?'" He asked. "what are you going on about now?" He looked around the cyborg to the girls, and spoke to them in English. "Hey, what's your guys' names?"

"I'm Sam. That's Luna." The blonde one said. Lincoln blinked.

"...Sam...and Luna..." He repeated. "I knew some people with those names when I was younger."

" **Don't say that like you're an adult.** " Twenty-three said to him, not taking her eyes off the purple one, Luna.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" He yelled at her in Japanese. She didn't answer him. "Wait, you can understand English?"

" **I'm a cyborg, Lincoln-tan.** " Was all the cyborg said.

"That doesn't explain anything." He mumbled. "And stop looking at them like that. You're making me look bad."

" **Someone your age should not be worried about their image.** " She said. Lincoln rolled his eyes.

"You're only a couple years older than me."

" **I am practically an adult.** "

"Who cares about that?" He asked no one in particular. Without warning her, he grabbed her arm and proceeded to drag her away. "Let's go, pervert."

" **I'M NOT A PERVERT!** " She yelled at him, struggling with no success to get out of his grip. He rolled his eyes.

"Lolicon."

" **SH-SHUT IT!** " She yelled at him. " **SHE'S A CONSENTING ADULT! NOTHING PERVERTED HAS HAPPENED BETWEEN THE TWO OF US!** "

"Yet."

" **AAAH!** " The cyborg yelled, covering her face with her free hand in embarrassment.

"Wait!" One of the girls yelled again. Lincoln turned to see Luna staring at him, tears in her eyes and her chest heaving as she breathed heavily.

"...Are you crying?" He said in shock. He looked at Twenty-three, shaking her body slightly. "What did you do?"

" **N-Nothing!** " The cyborg insisted.

"Lincoln!" Luna yelled at him, running at him. She fell to her knees and enveloped the white-haired boy in a hug. In shock, Lincoln let go of Twenty-three's arm, who seemed just as caught off guard as the fourteen-year-old. Luna shook as she squeezed him in her arms, his shirt getting soaked from the sheer mount of tears that fell onto it. Lincoln recovered and looked to his left side at the girl.

"Hey, quit it, I just washed this shirt yesterday."

* * *

"Man, this is trippy." Lincoln said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I didn't even recognize you guys."

Luna and Sam sat on his futon while he sat on the floor across form them, cross-legged. Sam looked uncomfortable, and Luna just kept her eyes downcast, looking depressed. Twenty-three stood in the kitchen with an apron, dusting the walls.

"...Well, it has been three years. I guess we maybe changed with time." Sam uncomfortably spoke. Luna did not say a word, but Lincoln did not think too much on how she was looking. Although, he didn't necessarily like how his sister was looking right now.

"Yeah, you look way different from back then." He said.

" **Actually, Lincoln-tan, after checking their history, I concluded that their was only around a hundred subtle changes in appearance. Perhaps it is your memory that has changed**." Twenty-three said. Lincoln looked back at her.

"Nah, it's pretty good. I'm sure they look _way_ different from back then." Twenty-three stopped for a moment, before turning to face him.

" **...When was the last time you went to see a doctor?** " She asked him. Lincoln raised an eyebrow at her.

"What does that have to do with anything?" She did not answer, instead choosing to turn around and continue her cleaning. "Hey, don't ignore me!"

"Wait, I'm confused." Sam said out of nowhere. Lincoln looked to her, tilting his head slightly as he looked at the blonde. "So, you've been living with that...I wanna say 'android?'"

"Cyborg." Lincoln corrected. He looked up at the ceiling without interest and scratched his cheek with one finger. "I've only known her for less than a day, but she's already made herself at home here. She's a swindler, watch out."

" **The term 'swindle' makes it seem that I deceived you for financial gain. I simply pointed out the multiple problems with your current living condition and offered an 'easy' way out.** "

"Why do you even want to live here?" Lincoln asked. Twenty-three did not answer. "Never mind. It's probably something perverted."

" **I have done nothing to deserve the label** ' **pervert!** '" She barely hid her embarrassment, her body going stiff and shaking. Lincoln just rolled his eyes. " **Uncalled accusations such as that only highlight the fact you are too immature to live on your own-** "

"Another word, and I'm throwing you out!" Lincoln's right eye twitched as he yelled at the cyborg's back. Twenty-three spun around quickly and pointed an accusing finger at him.

" **Call me pervert again, I'll report your living conditions to the government!** " Lincoln just huffed and crossed his arms, looking away for the cyborg. His right eye and left index finger twitched as he glared at the small table in his living room in front of him.

"...I don't know what any of that meant, but I'm kind of scared." Sam said. Lincoln blinked, his anger dissipating in a moment as he went back into neutral mode.

"Oh, right, you can't speak Japanese." He said. He was silent a moment, before waving the subject away with his hand in the air. "Never mind it, it wasn't that important a talk."

"...right." Sam said. "So, who's house is this?"

"Mine." Lincoln said. Sam blinked, somewhat confused into silence.

"...No, I mean, like, who owns it."

"I do." Lincoln looked down and started to hunt for the remote.

"...Well, there has to be an adult or something here with you, right?"

"Nah. The mail people don't even stop by. No one else lives here but me." He looked under the small table, and saw the small black object that he wanted. "Well, Twenty-three lives here now, but up until yesterday I've been living by myself."

"WHAT?" Luna suddenly yelled. Lincoln flinched, before he glanced over the table to see his older sister looking at him with tears. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're not gonna make a big deal of this, are you?" He said. "I didn't pick up any tissues on the way home. _Someone_ side-tracked me." He said,going back under to reach for the remote.

"B-...but you...I..." Luna couldn't seem to make up a sentence. When he though of it, he couldn't really blame her after all. But he was fine, he didn't see any reason to worry.

"But how do you eat, or go to the doctors, or go to school?"

"I buy food, just like everyone else." He reached his objective and sat up, his prize in his hand. He turned so that he was facing the t.v., and started flipping through channels. "I home school myself...because why not? And so far, I've never found a legit reason to go to the doctors."

"But, there's still the bills, and physicals, and the _law_." Sam said. Lincoln just shrugged.

"I pay all the bills, and my last physical still holds up-"

"-after _three years?_ "

"-and the law hasn't really stopped me from working." He said. "Well, not until recently, but that was just a rude police officer."

" **So you do hero work alongside the police?** " Twenty-three asked suddenly.

"Nah. So far, they haven't really cared what I do." Lincoln answered the cyborg in English this time. It was getting tiring going back and forth between languages.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"The cops." Lincoln said. He turned to the news, and watched. So far, the only problems that threatened humanity were traffic and McRonalds junk food. He sighed in defeat. _Great. I had hoped there would be at least something for me to do._ He thought. _Oh, well. Maybe that means my hard work is paying off._

"...But that's...that doesn't make any sense!" Sam said.

" **I encourage you to take the next hero test as soon as possible, Lincoln-tan.** **Acts of vigilantism are illegal in this country.** "

"Really?! I just thought they would look at you weird." Lincoln said, blinking in surprise. He was suddenly glad he didn't tell that big-chinned lady off.

"Lincoln, I think you should come back to America with us." Sam said suddenly. Lincoln was silent a moment, before leaning his head to the side to look at them.

"Why?"

"...Because, just...everything about your situation is ten-pounds of child neglect in a three-pound bag!"

"Eh, it's fine." He said, looking back to the T.V..

"What do you mean it's fine?! Nothing about this is fine! You shouldn't be paying bills, or living on your own, or hanging out with cyborgs!"

" **...I am not sure, but I believe that on some level that was racist. Or at the very least specist.** "

"You're fourteen! You should be worried about video-games or homework, not what you're eating everyday!"

"I'm pretty sure I would worry about all those things regardless of the country I'm in." He said. He then scratched his cheek. "Although, I can't really afford any video-games. I should at least have a rice cooker by now."

" **I apologized.** "

"Exactly my point! You don't even have proper furniture."

"Hey, you don't see me going to your house and judging what you got. My futon is perfect, all right?" He crossed his arms.

"Lincoln, that's not my point! This!" She waved her arms around, gesturing to his apartment. "No kid should be living like this!"

"...In an apartment, with working lights, water, a full fridge, a bathroom-"

"Luna, talk some sense into him!" Sam said. Luna jumped, looking like a deer caught in headlights. She gulped, looking guiltily at her younger brother.

"...Lincoln, I...I know you have some...problems with our parents..."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"They were the reason you were...abandoned here." Luna said through gritted teeth. Her fist were tight on her legs, and she couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with him. Instead she looked down at the table.

Lincoln blinked. Is that really why they thought he didn't want to leave? True, he had no reason to stay, but he didn't really have a reason to leave, either. Now that he thought about it, he could actually visit them, couldn't he. He never tried to run on water before, but he was sure he could do something, like take a boat. It would be faster than taking a plane. Why did he have to leave to be with them. He could visit and still live here.

Actually, he could have visited multiple times. Lincoln sweat-dropped as he realized he probably made a big mistake. Well, it's not like they were going to be too worried about that. Besides...

"I don't really care about that." He said, looking back to the news. But not before catching the confused face of his older sister. Wait, what was that on the news.

" **Lincoln-tan, there seems to be a monster attack in the downtown area. I shall return in an hour.** " Twenty-three said. Lincoln blinked and looked over to the cyborg, who was removing her apron from over her hoodie. He was still for a moment, before he stood up quickly.

"Hey, wait, what?!" He said. The cyborg looked back to him confused.

" **I am a licensed hero. Which means I must act on this new development.** " She said, walking out.

"Hey, I'm a hero, too!" He yelled after her in Japanese. "Wait for me!"

He ran after her, leaving the two girls behind him very confused.


	6. Punch 6 (The cleaning dragon)

There was no forecast for rain today. She had to keep reminding herself of that, for some reason. On the way out she had put on a raincoat and grabbed an umbrella. She was embarrassed for herself, sure, but it was nothing new. She always did this for some estranged reason. Even when exiting her car on this exceptionally sunny day, she reached for the umbrella at her side that she left at home.

It was anything but absent-mindedness on her part. She was the most focused person in her entire company. She wasn't stupid, or suffered some kind of mental handicap. She didn't even dislike water. She just always thought it was raining. A long time ago she accepted that as her one quirk in her sea of normal-ness. Upon the countless hobbies she had tried and eventually surrendered, it was the constant piece of small talk, especially for dates. It wasn't weird or anything. Strange, sure, but weird? At least, not weird enough to chase off any guys.

But today was different. Made obvious by the worrying amount of blood falling from the sky.

She couldn't comprehend what was going on. It was pure shock rushing through her. Not being able to move, think, breath. She couldn't even close her eyes, until stray streams of blood fell into her eyes.

It was at this point she finally fell over, since she had lost too much blood to be able to live any longer.

* * *

"Say, how long until we get there?" Lincoln said, while jogging next to thirteen. The cyborg was using rockets in her palms and her soles to power her forward.

" **We are three minutes out.** " Twenty Three said.

"That's too long. Mind if I just go ahead?"

" **What?** "

"Don't worry, I'll save some for you if I can." Lincoln said, running forward. He left Twenty Three behind pretty quickly, remembering to leave some bad guys for her to fight. He was pretty sure if he just went straight, he would run into the monsters. The strange thing was, he never heard of any monster attacks near Zendrant city before, but hey, there was a first time for everything.

He ran or a good couple of seconds before encountering a building. Without a moment's hesitation, he jumped up over it.

"Oh, geez." Lincoln said. While in mid-air, he could see the amount of destruction that was laid over the downtown area. Craters in the ground, blown-up cars, destroyed fronts of buildings. Smoke was rising from multiple places at once, and one or two things were on fire.

Before he even had a chance to descent, a ball of light flew at him. He quickly tilted his head to the left as it flew past him, not even grazing his cheek. Somewhere behind him he heard an explosion.

 _My clothes could have gotten burned up,_ Lincoln thought with a sweat-drop. He fell down and landed on his feet in the middle of a large crater. Straightening himself out, he looked up to where the ball had come from.

" _Bu-ku-ku-ku!_ " He heard through the smoke.

"Stop that." Lincoln said already annoyed with that laugh.

" _You're fast, little rabbit. Faster than the others._ " The voice said. Lincoln sighed in exasperation.

"Are you just trying to piss me off?" Lincoln said.

Through the smoke, a bulking figure stepped out. It was about three times the height of Lincoln, bulging muscles. It was covered in bright red shiny scales and had a single enormous bat-like wing. The reptilian face smiled, baring rows of razor-sharp teeth. It wore torn clothes that barely covered it.

" _A kid like you shouldn't be using such dirty words._ " The disembodied words came from it's mouth. " _I will clean you as I've cleaned the rest of this town._ "

"Oh?" The monster spread it arms, in a "look-at-me" fashion.

" _My scales show how good I am at cleansing the world of the impure._ " It said. " _I can just feel the world become more pure-_ "

"Are you gonna talk all day?" Lincoln interrupted it. "I got things to do, so let's wrap it up."

" _Hmph._ " It said. It's wing flexed, and then it was gone.

"Oh." Lincoln said in slight surprise. High above the ground, the monster laughed in the air.

" _AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!_ " The monster laughed in victory. " _Watch this human! There has been no one who could stand up against my GROUND-SHAKER ATTACK!_ "

From it's unmoving mouth, a small ball of light was beginning to form. It grew quickly in size, soon filling up it's whole jaw. In a similar fashion, light started to grow in it's paws as well.

" _I once underestimated your kind, and I lost my wing because of it. BUT NOT NOW! I WILL START OFF WITH MY STRONGEST ATTACK! AH-HA-HA-HA-"_

"You talk too much." Lincoln said, suspended in the air behind the dragon-like monster. It flinched and turned around quickly.

" _Behind-!_ " It was thrown to the ground.

The force of the monster's path created a new crater in the concrete, where the dragon monster lay still for a second. Lincoln fell to the ground once more, and as he landed, the monster stood up.

" _Okay!...Wasn't prepared for that!...But now, I know how strong you are, so I will not lose this fight human!_ " It said, flexing it's muscles.

"Oh, I'm not fighting you." Lincoln said. "My friend is coming, you'll fight her."

The monster was silent at that.

" _So...YOU ARE TRULY THAT TERRIFIED OF ME!_ " It yelled, flexing all it's muscles at once. " _IT'S SEEMS I OVERESTIMATED YOU, HUMAN! THIS FIGHT WILL BE NOTHING!"_

"Whatever you say, pal." Lincoln said.

" **Lincoln-tan!** " Lincoln heard Twenty three's voice yell. She descended from the sky in a ball of fire.

"Oh, there you are." Lincoln said. The cyborg landed loudly next to the boy, the sounds of gears hissing and turning. Waves of heat radiated off her metal limbs. "Took you long enough."

" **I apologize, I was not fast enough.** **Is that the only enemy?** " She asked.

"Yeah. I said I would save some fighting for you." Lincoln said.

" **I think it would have been better if you had ended this monster at your first chance.** " She said.

"Fine, next time I _won't_ try to be nice." Lincoln said, not looking at the cyborg.

" **No, I appreciate the, uh...gesture, Lincoln-tan, but good heroes do not treat battle as if it as a video-game.** "

"I know that, I'm not a rookie, you know."

" **Your actions have not convinced me of that.** "

" _STOP IGNORING ME!_ " The dragon monster said, as another ball of light flew at them. Lincoln stepped out the way as Twenty Three barely managed to doge, using her rockets to spin out of the balls path.

" **Target acquired.** " Twenty Three said, as her body righted and she flew at the dragon.

" _Come at me, robot! I am Draco the Destroyer! A little metal can not harm me!_ " Draco flew in response towards Twenty Three, brandishing his claws.

The two met in the middle of their battle field, one punch from each colliding with each other. The cyborg spun to the right, dodging a swipe from Draco. Thirteen crouched low and landed a punch in the monster's gut. Draco simply laughed and swiped from the left, attempting to take Twenty Three's arms. She rocketed away, barely managing to escape the attack. She did a back-flip and landed on her feet in a crouching position, throwing her hands forward in front of her.

" **Incinerate!** " She yelled. Large plumes of flame flew out of her palms, completely covering Draco. The flames obliterated the buildings opposite of Twenty Three, wiping all know signs of them from existence.

" _Seriously?! Try better than that!_ " Draco charged at her through her flames. " _You can't burn a dragon!_ "

Thirteen launched into the air as Draco swiped, the force of the attack cutting through the flames and the buildings behind the cyborg. Thirteen rocketed down with a punch, only to hit the ground when Draco sidestepped out of the way. The force of Thirteen's punch made a small crater in the concrete. Draco kicked Thirteen's side, sending her flying off to the right.

The cyborg righted herself mid-air and used her rockets to stop her in her path, coming to a halt far from the dragon.

Once again, the two launched at each other, punching and kicking, swiping and firing. The destruction before was nothing compared to what the cyborg and the dragon were doing. Entire buildings were wiped away in seconds. Stray flames and claw marks everywhere. Beyond it, Lincoln stood on one of the still-standing buildings. With one hand, he covered his mouth as he yawned.

"Man, now I'm bored." He said.

"LINCOLN!" The white-haired boy heard from behind him. He turned his head slightly around to see Sam and Luna flying towards him.

"Hey, you guys came." He said nonchalantly.

"Of course we came!" Luna yelled at him as she landed a few feet behind him. "Why'd you rush off like that?!"

"And how'd you get here so fast?" Sam asked, as she landed right beside Luna.

"I just ran." Lincoln said, turning back to watch. "Twenty Three's taking care of this guy real quick."

Just as he finished speaking, Twenty Three landed a punch on the monster's face, an explosion going off in the process. Flame and smoke enveloped the cyborg and monster, blocking them from view. The force of the explosion caused a rush of wind, almost knocking Sam and Luna off their feet. Rocks and debris flew everywhere, the last few remaining structures collapsing, including the one Lincoln was standing on.

"Oh." Lincoln mumbled as the roof gave way beneath him.

"Lincoln!" Luna yelled, as she grabbed the 14-year-old's let arm before he could fall.

"Thanks." Lincoln said, not taking his eyes off the fight. Luna flew him to the ground and set him down on his feet gently. "My clothes could have gotten dirty."

"So this is what a battle between an S-class hero and a Demon threat monster looks like." Sam said as she landed to the left of the siblings. "It's kind of scary."

"She can handle it. Our priority should be getting Lincoln out on here as soon as possible." Luna said.

"Luna, as heroes, we can't just abandon a fight. Even if there's an S-class present." Sam said. "What if she needs our help?"

"I know, all right? I just...I don't like him being here."

"...Look, you go on ahead."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm the strongest of us anyways, and it's a hero's job to protect civilians. Just go, all right." Sam said. Lincoln, still looking at the could of smoke, noticed a flash.

"Thanks, S-" Luna was cut off Lincoln yanking her down by her arm. A ball of light flew where her head had been, passing over her. Somewhere behind them, it exploded against the ground.

" _Trying to leave, are we?_ " Draco said, emerging from the smoke. In one arm it held the unconscious broken body of Twenty Three, her right arm missing.

 _Seriously?_ Lincoln thought with an annoyed look on his face.

"Shit." Sam said, getting into a fighting stance. Her body was shaking. "Get him out of here!" Draco dropped Twenty Three, rushing forward.

" _How rude. Your language is so filthy._ " Before Sam could react, Draco was on top of her. " _Let me clean it_."

Draco kicked Sam, planting it's foot in her stomach, sending her flying backwards farther than they could see. Lincoln and Luna's heads followed the limp girl flying through the air.

"Sam!" Luna yelled, thrusting her hand out in front of her. A guitar came flying from out of nowhere, landing with it's neck in her hand. She burst into purple flame as she swung hard to the left, which Draco jumped over with ease. It swung his head down hard, headbutting Luna into unconsciousness. Luna fell to the ground, not making a sound as she went limp.

"Hey!" Lincoln yelled, reaching down to his unconscious sister. There was a single stream of blood coming down her forehead. Out of nowhere, Draco grabbed Lincoln's right arm as he laughed.

" _Time to cleanse the winter kit._ " Lincoln looked up at the monster, shadows darkening his eyes. In them, the monster could see death. Lincoln grabbed the monster's arm with his captured hand

" **Fuck off.** " He said, barely audible, pulling back his fist slowly. Anger radiated off him, so much so that the monster could feel it pierce his core.

"Lincoln!" Somewhere far off to the side, Sam yelled as she charge at the monster, covered in red flames. _Shit, I won't make it!_ She thought, a ball of energy in her hand. Draco's mouth opened as light started to gather inside it, in a fear-driven attempt at survival.

Before Sam or Draco could react, Lincoln threw a single left jab at the monster. It exploded into a mess of gore, which could only be visible for a second, before the after shock of the punch cause a cortex of wind going off in the opposite direction. It lasted a few seconds, before dissipating, leaving only the bottom half of the monster standing, and the amputated arm that still held Lincoln's right arm. Sam froze in place, speechless. Her fire and energy went out as she stared at the fourteen year old.

Lincoln stood up straight and yanked the arm off his, tossing it lazily to the side.

"Oi, Thirteen, what happened?" Lincoln asked the unconscious cyborg. "Oh, right."

He picked up his sister and tossed her over his shoulder, walking over to where Twenty Three was laying.

"Great, now you gotta get fixed again." He said, tossing her over his free shoulder. "Oi, Sam, let's go." He yelled in English.

"O-oh, right!"

* * *

Lincoln jogged back to his apartment, trying to be extra careful with the two people on his shoulders still. Sam flew beside him, every once in a while glancing at the young boy. Or, teen now, she figured. At least almost. She remembered the sheer force of the punch she witnessed. One kick from that monster almost killed her, not to mention it took out an S-rank hero. Yet, with one punch...

"Hey." Lincoln said out of nowhere, snapping her from her thoughts. "Why do you keep looking at me?"

"S-sorry." Sam said. "It's just...you really different from back how I remember."

"Wait, did I used to hang out with you?"

"No, I only met you once, but...you seemed...less."

"Less what?" He asked.

"Just less."

Lincoln thought about that for a moment. That was all the time he was allowed, before reaching his apartment. Seeing it, he stopped in his tracks.

"Huh, what's wrong?" Sam said, stopping just behind him. She saw the outer balcony of his apartment, and froze. "O-oh, right."

The majority of the wall had been destroyed, a gaping hole in the side of his living area.

"Sam." Lincoln said, barely audible, without moving his head. The aura of anger was back.

 _Eek!_ Sam exclaimed in her head as she gulped.

"Y-yeah?" She asked. Lincoln forced himself to look behind him at the blonde, barely able to keep the anger on his face constrained into an awkward smile.

"What...happened...to...my...wall?" He said slowly. Sam shook.

"W-well, w-when you left, L-Luna rushed after you, accidentally powering up as she did. A-And she ended up...plowing through the wall."

Lincoln glared at her, causing the blonde to jump, before he let his head fall with a sigh.

" _Damn it, this is gonna cost me so much._ " He whispered in Japanese. He looked back up to Sam. "Can you get Luna to a hospital or something? I need to fix my wall."

"S-Sure." She said, stepping forward and taking Luna from him. She tossed her over her shoulder, then looked back at the younger kid. "...Hey, Lincoln?"

"Yeah?"

"You should visit your family."

"Sure. I'll do that after I take the hero test."

"Okay."

"..." Lincoln squinted at her.

"W-What?" Sam asked nervously.

"Why are you acting so differently?" He asked her.

"...You're strong."

"So?"

"I was against your...situation, I guess, because I thought you were too weak. But you're not, so you get to live however you want."

"What's with that tone shift?" Lincoln asked her. "I'm not in the mood for a story."

"The weak are people who are either protected or killed." She said, apparently not hearing him. She closed her eyes, as if lost in memory. "They have little control over anything in their life. If you're weak, you get taken advantage of. You really on the honesty and decency of those with power. If you're weak _and_ alone...you have no chance."

She opened her eyes to see Lincoln gone.

"Eh?" She stared at the spot he was for a moment, before looking up to see him walking into his apartment. "HEY!"

* * *

( **NEXT TIME ON...ONE PUNCH LOUD** )

" **I need to train harder!** "

"Do that outside!"

" **INCINERATE!** "

"NOT IN MY DAMN HOUSE!"

"Do you think you're special or something?"

"So, are you here for the hero tests?"

"GIVE ME MY DAMN FOOD, BRAT!"


	7. Punch 7 (Hero Test)

" **Lincoln-tan!** " Lincoln awoke to the sound of Twenty-Three yelling at him. His covers were lazily tossed over him from the night's tossing and turning. With a snort, he woke up fully in a second to see the cyborg standing over him with her signature apron and cleaning supplies. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as he tried to adjust to the now daylight.

"Hey, you're fixed," Lincoln said, commenting on her now repaired arm.

" **Yes, I am, thank you for noticing. Now, I thought we agreed that we would each do half the chores.** " She said. Lincoln nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll check if any of them need cleaning. What is it today, Thursday?"

" **Friday,** " Twenty-Three said. Lincoln yawned and stood up, letting the blankets fall off him.

Without a word, he walked off to the kitchen, stretching to wake himself up as he walked. He stopped at the entrance and looked down at the tile, seeing strands of black hair among the dust. Not an alarming amount, but definitely not a comfortable on either. Lincoln grimaced as he reached for the broom leaned against the fridge.

"Hey, from now on, wear a hair net when you're in here, all right?" He said, getting to sweeping.

" **Yes, Lincoln-tan.** " She said. He could hear a vacuum start up as he was sweeping.

Most of the rest of the time was spent in silent cleaning. Lincoln had to admit, it was nice to spend an hour on cleaning when he usually spent two. It might have taken less if it wasn't for the fact Twenty-Three hadn't accidentally missed the trash can when emptying the vacuum, but it wasn't anything for him to complain about. He certainly didn't dislike that he now had Twenty-Three for a house-mate.

 _Although, I can't say I like it either._ Lincoln thought to himself, as he put the last dish in the rack of the dishwasher.

" **Lincoln-tan, I must ask you a question,** " Twenty-Three spoke up from the living room.

"What is it?" Lincoln asked as he shut the dishwasher and started it up.

" **You already know I wish to become stronger.** " She said.

"Uh-huh," Lincoln said, opening the fridge to see what he could have for breakfast.

" **And it is clear that you are the physically strongest being I have ever met.** "

"Mm-hm." He said, grabbing a jug of milk.

" **I wish to know the secret to your power. What makes you so strong?** "

"Damn it, all the bowls are in the dishwasher," Lincoln said with a sigh. "I guess I could use a cup or something-"

" **LINCOLN-TAN!** " Twenty-Three yelled, causing Lincoln to jump in surprise.

"Huh? What?" He said, spinning his head to look at her.

" **I want you to teach me to be strong.** " She said. Lincoln blinked, reaching for his cabinets while not looking away from Twenty-Three.

"Why?" Lincoln asked, grabbing a box of bland cereal. He proceeded to pour the cereal in as Twenty-Three set down the duster she had on the couch.

" **I must become as strong as possible if I plan to beat Psych one day. In my current state, I would not stand a chance against him. But I believe, through what you yourself have undergone, I can reach a level where I can make him pay for what he has done to me and my family, as well as everyone else he has hurt. This is my mission, my purpose. Lincoln, please, I wish that you teach me how to become as strong as you. To fight on your level. To-** "

"Enough! Shorten it to Twenty words or less!" Lincoln yelled, interrupting her.

" **. . . R-Right,** " Twenty-Three mumbled as Lincoln began to pour milk into the glass. " **Teach me to be strong.** "

"Hhhm," Lincoln said, setting the milk on the counter and looking up at the ceiling in thought.

" **You do not have to answer me at the moment,** " Twenty-Three said. " **Please, just keep it in mind."**

"Uh, sure," Lincoln said, grabbing a spoon from the cabinet drawer. "Do you need to eat anything?"

" **Not necessarily.** " Twenty Three walked over to his side. " **You could have chosen to simply wait for a bowl to be finished.** "

"Eh, this is faster." He said, taking a bite out of the breakfast. "Anyways, I gotta go soon. The hero test is within the next hour, so..."

" **I understand. Do not worry, I shall accompany you to your test as a source of moral support.** " She said, walking back to her new room (which has not been cleared out yet).

"Actually, I was hoping to go by myself," Lincoln said with half-a-mouth full of cereal.

" **You need a legal adult present in order to take the test,** " Twenty-Three said from the back room.

". . . You made that up didn't you?" He said.

" **Perhaps . . . but you're still not going to check, so . . .** " She said as she walked into view. Lincoln glared at her.

". . . You're an evil woman." Lincoln mumbled, stuffing a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

* * *

Minutes later, Lincoln and Twenty-Three walked out side-by-side of the apartment. Lincoln wore his signature yellow and red jumpsuit while Twenty-Three just wore sweats. As they made their way down the stairs, Twenty-Three took the time to look around.

" **Lincoln-tan, are you really the only one who lives here? It doesn't seem like an abandoned neighborhood.** "

"Yep. All the time I've been here, I've never come across another person besides the occasional homeless person." Lincoln said. "Now that I think about it, there's probably some of those guys living in some of the vacant homes."

" **Still, it seems too nice to be abandoned,** " Twenty-Three said as they stepped out onto the street.

"Well, it can get a little too quiet around here, even for me. Plus it gets _way_ too dark at night." Lincoln said. "A lot of people think that nothing but monsters live here, or it's haunted. They call it 'Ghost Town' or 'Monster City,' or whatever other stupid names they came up with."

" **Hmm. I see why that would keep some people from moving here, although I myself never had much of a taste for superstitions.** " She said. Lincoln shrugged.

"Oh, well. Let's just get this over with." He said.

" **You talk of it like a chore.** " Twenty-three said.

"I'm basically applying for a job. If it wasn't for the money I would just be doing hero work without the license."

" **That would be illegal,** " Twenty-Three said.

"Shut up." Lincoln retorted, and with that, he jumped off.

He made sure to keep his pace slow enough to where Twenty-Three could keep up. The cyborg rocketed next to him, keeping pace, although not without effort. He was actually quite impressed with how fluent she moved, how comfortable she seemed with her mechanical parts. It was like watching an anime character, which made him quite a bit jealous when he really thought about it. She even hung low to the ground like she was in Naruto, except she didn't actually run. He just had his normal running stance, nothing special. Maybe he should come up with a cool running pose.

" **Lincoln-tan, I have to ask. Are you nervous?** "

"Oh, well, not really. All I have to do is go in there and try my best, right? Not too difficult, right? Either it works out or it doesn't."

" **Oh, I see. You are very nonchalant about a possible career.** "

"It's not like not having a hero's license is gonna stop me from doing hero work anyways, so..."

" **I know I do not have to explain to you again that if you were to engage in any more vigilante activity, I would be forced to take you in as a criminal.** "

"So, what you're saying is, you'd have to fight me?"

" **I would have to arrest you.** "

"If it comes to that, go ahead," Lincoln said. Twenty-Three glared at him out of the corner of her eye, which morphed to a look of surprise when she saw the look of determination on his face.

" **. . . You really do care about becoming a hero, don't you?** "

"Of course I do, what kind of question is that?" Lincoln glared at her out the corner of his eye.

" **. . .** "

* * *

"Okay, next!" The lady at the registration desk yelled, writing down on her notepad. The large room that acted as a holding area was filled with lots of people, all dressed in many different outfits, ranging from strange to amazing, to zany, and so on. Most of the people here were buff men, with a sprinkle of women and skinny guys in the mix. He could already feel the judgment that was to come before he even stepped inside the door.

" **Good luck, Lincoln-tan!** " Twenty-Three said, giving him two thumbs up.

"Thanks. Make sure to get me that rice-cooker if you're not busy." He smiled and waved back, walking up to the desk and leaving her at the entrance as the door closed behind him. His anxiousness had been somewhat suppressed at the nervous murmuring of the other test-takers. He took a kind of comfort in knowing that he wasn't the only one extremely nervous for this whole thing.

"Name?" The lady at the desk asked.

"Lincoln Loud."

The lady peered up at him over her glasses, looking him up and down. Her pen had ceased movement, and he could just feel the judgment radiate from her.

"Kid, how old are you?" She asked, taking the tone of a stern teacher. If he hadn't been so nervous, he would've growled at her for calling him a kid.

"Fourteen." He said. The lady sighed, taking off her glasses.

"Look, kid, if you want to be a hero when you grow up, that's fine and all, but this is a serious test. I don't think people will appreciate you wasting their time by holding up this line for your little fantasy."

". . . I'm sorry, I don't think you understand," Lincoln said, trying his best to keep his cool. "I registered for the test almost two days ago. If you just check your papers, I'm sure-"

"Kid, I'm not going to repeat myself." She said, rubbing her temple as if _he_ was the one giving _her_ the migraine. "Now, you seem like a nice boy, but I don't want to have to call your parents if-"

" **Oi, is there a problem?** " Twenty-Three came up from behind him, heat radiating off of her, though Lincoln wasn't sure if it was from anger or her core powering up. Probably both.

"D-Demon Cyborg?!" The registration yelled in shock. Twenty-Three glared down on her as the cry of recognition startled to people around them.

"It's an S-Class hero!" Someone yelled from the back.

"What is she doing here?!"

"She must be a surprise judge! We're screwed!"

"Hey, what are you still doing here?" Lincoln asked her, his attention now focused on his metallic companion.

" **I was about to head to the store, but I could not allow myself to leave after hearing how this woman was speaking to you.** " Twenty-Three glared harder at the registration lady, who seemed to be frozen in fear. Lincoln rolled his eyes.

"What are you, my mom? I can handle this myself, you know." Lincoln said.

" **If you need to speak to his guardian, that's me.** " She said to the lady, who gulped. Lincoln blinked, realizing he was now being ignored.

"M-Ms. Cyborg, I must apologize, but I don't think i-it would be wise for someone his age-"

" **Child Emperor is younger than him, yet he is an S-class.** " The cyborg said. The lady gulped again.

"T-That's hardly the same, ma'am. Child Emperor's a prodigy, and even _he_ had to wait a full year of surveillance before-"

" **Do. I. Look. Like. I. Care?** " The cyborg repeated slowly, causing the lady to flinch back with each word.

"Oi, Twenty-Three, quit it. You're making a scene." Lincoln said with a sigh.

" **He is to take this test without a problem. Am I clear?** " The Cyborg said.

"Demon Cyborg-"

" ** _Ms!_ Demon Cyborg.**" She said, her glare growing tighter on the word "Ms."

"M-Ms. Demon Cyborg!" The lady repeated with a squeak. "You have to understand, the agency-"

" **You let me worry about the agency. You worry about his test. Which he should be taking right about now.** " The cyborg crossed her arms.

". . . Y-Yes ma'am." The lady said, going back to writing stuff down on her notepad cautiously. There were a few seconds of silence before Lincoln sighed.

"You know, that wasn't very heroic." He said, looking up at her.

" **Apologies, I just do not care much for being talked down to,** " She said. Lincoln saw something flash in her metallic eyes, something akin to sadness. It was gone as quickly as it had come, and he felt he had missed something big. Still, he didn't want to cause another scene, so he would let it go for now. He looked back at the lady who was writing, all the while throwing cautious glances at Twenty-Three. The entire room had gone from nervous murmuring to dead silence, and Lincoln couldn't tell what was going through their heads.

"Still, you didn't have to do that for me. I'm not a kid you know?" He said, crossing his arms with a pout on his face.

" **Look, you may not understand my motivations, but I am only thinking of the best for you.** " She said, her voice going soft. Lincoln rolled his eyes but still softened. " **Someone has to act as your parent.** "

"Watch it." He warned, trying to appear as stone-cold as he could. But it appeared not to fool Twenty-Three at all, cause she just smirked playfully and pat his head. Lincoln groaned in annoyance and attempted to swat the hand away with half effort. "Quit it."

"H-Here you go." The lady said, handing Lincoln a piece of paper with his name and writing on it. He took it with a kind smile, trying to make up for Twenty-Three's rudeness. The lady slightly gestured to a metallic door to the side. "Head through the door on your left."

"Thank you." He said to her. He turned to Twenty-Three. "And don't cause any other scenes, or I'll have to knock some sense into you."

" **Of course. Good luck, Lincoln-tan.** " She said. He rolled his eyes.

"Just behave yourself," Lincoln said, walking through the door. He could see a glimpse of her behind him. He thought he saw the same sadness as before appearing on her face, but the door was closed before he could speak to her again.

* * *

Lincoln headed out to the testing area, which was basically a large gym separated by flimsy walls. Lincoln was a little uncomfortable in his current clothing, as he had to shed his yellow jumpsuit in turn for sweatpants and t-shirt. He guessed they couldn't let him out with the tight suits some of the older guys had on, which he was both pissed and relieved about. He scratched his cheeks in embarrassment, trying to ignore the female contestants that were present. He instead focused on the number that was written on his right palm, which was supposed to be his identification. It wasn't too surprising, but he wished there was a better way to go about it.

" _Contestant 2-31, please proceed to side-to-side jumping._ " A voice over the intercom said. He straightened himself out as he headed to the area where the sign 'side-to-side jumping' was. He breathed slowly as he lined up at the start, two older guys to his sides. They seemed to be already stretching, but he didn't think he needed any time for that.

About twenty feet behind him, a group of about six overly-buff men stood tall and proud in the corner, nudging each other jokingly as they looked at the white-haired kid who had somehow snuck his way into this test.

"Look at his brat." One of them laughed, a burly blonde guy with a mustache, as he elbowed one of his friends jokingly. "If even he can take it, this test is going to be a piece of cake."

The test-leader stepped in front of the three people taking the test, holding an orange pistol in his hand.

"READY!" He said. Lincoln simply stood as the other two older guys got in a stance. "SET!" The man raised the pistol. Lincoln still didn't move even as the two people next to him tensed in anticipation. Suddenly, The white-haired boy's whole demeanor changed within a micro-second, his face becoming serious as he crouched down. "GO!"

The pistol went off with a bang. Immediately, Lincoln became a blur between two spots, the people spectating not being able to identify where he was at an exact moment. To the naked eye, it seemed like he was in those two places at once. The ground where he was stepping started to cave in slightly from the force of his jumps. The blonde man and his buff friends all sweatdropped at the sight of this.

"NEXT, 1500-METER DASH!"

Having shifted places to a nearby track, Lincoln had sped through it twice in less than two seconds, while the same other contestants had struggled just to keep their pace. The workers worryingly hurried to get the tape up just as Lincoln crossed the line the second time.

"WEIGHT LIFTING!"

Lincoln held up the bar with one arm, the weights enough to bend it, while the two other people couldn't even lift half of what he did.

"WHACK-A-MOLE!"

"HIGH JUMP!"

"PUNCHING MACHINE!"

Lincoln once again aced every test they had. He had destroyed the whack-a-mole and punching machine and had even broken the ceiling a little when he jumped a little too high, getting a little stuck in the process. All the while, the buff men in the corner stood small and embarrassed, most of them leaving as they watched the kid and dwindling their numbers to two people.

"I'm going home." The blonde one said as his last companion left, one step ahead of him.

Lincoln let out a satisfied breath as he walked away from the last machine, a little smoke rising from his fist that he paid no mind to.

"Now time for that written test." He said with the confidence of a winner.

* * *

Twenty-Three waited patiently for Lincoln outside in the registration room, her arm crossed over her chest. She had taken a little joy in putting that lady in her place, but Lincoln was correct when he said it wasn't very heroic. Twenty-Three leaned her head against back against the wall. She started to recall her life up until this point. When had her one-woman quest for justice become a career and a relationship? It was supposed to be about avenging her family, her town.

It had been going well for her for a while before she met Tatsumaki. She smirked to herself, thinking of her lover's nickname. "The Tornado of Terror." There were few that could contain all that anger she packed away in that little body. She hadn't known when she fell for the older woman, whether it was during that whole sea monster incident, or when it was when she followed the girl to her workplace in an attempt to get stronger. They had hated each other at first. Hell, anyone watching would think that Tats still hated her. But with time, they saw everything . . . the people under the cyborg and the Tornado. It was when she started her career as a hero that she started to be happy again.

It was her fault she had been put in a position like the one that caused her to meet Lincoln-tan. She was daydreaming, or whatever. If she had been paying attention, she could've taken him, even if it was so much stronger than her, she had skill and brains on her side. She was broken, and she was saved. When she looked up through the smoke, she thought she saw _him_ again. Her little Akio. It was still strange to be around him when he sounded so much like her brother.

Perhaps their resemblance was the reason she stuck around. Perhaps it was some instinct to protect what little family she could find in that boy, she had committed to not failing him as she did Akio. She had to constantly remind herself that this was not Akio, that he was gone. But the conditions of Lincoln's life were _unthinkable_ to her. She couldn't allow him to be alone through all this. Besides, he was already so much stronger than her. Perhaps she could learn from him in her quest for justice. The thought of why she was here in the first place soured her.

No matter how long she stayed a hero, that quest would not change.

Suddenly, the door next to her opened, with a familiar head of white hair stepping out of it. She stood from against the wall to talk to him.

" **Lincoln-tan, how was-** " She stopped herself when she saw his face. It was morphed into an expression she knew all too well, covered in the shadows of embarrassment. " **You did not study, did you?** "

"I did." He said lowly. "I just didn't study for the right things."

" **What was it? Was it laws, or scenarios a hero would be in.** "

"No . . . the question was, 'why do you want to be a hero?'" He said. Twenty-Three aimed her eyes at the ground, all too familiar with the white-haired boy's reason for being a hero.

"I see." She said. She then noticed the yellow envelope he held in his hand. "But, you still passed, did you not. With your strength, I am sure you got into A-class-"

She stopped when Lincoln showed her his paper, the big letter "C" unmistakable.

" **. . . I see.** " She turned back to the building. " **Excuse me while I clear this blasphemy.** "

"Oh, no you don't!" Lincoln said. The white-haired boy grabbed her right shoulder with one hand and forced the cyborg to her knees, to keep her in place. "I'm not letting you cause another scene, I'm embarrassed enough as it is!"

" **Lincoln-** "

"You're supposed to be an 'adult,' right? Then act like it!" He yelled at her. The cyborg was silent for a moment, then sighed in defeat.

" **Very well,** " she said. Lincoln humphed in satisfaction and let her go. The cyborg stood and looked at the young teen.

"I still don't see a rice cooker," he said. Twenty-Three's eyes widened in horror.

" **How could I be so irresponsible,** " she said dramatically, clenching her eyes and her fist.

"Hey, it's not that big of a deal," Lincoln said.

" **I am sorry, Lincoln-tan...I have failed you.** " She fell to her hands and knees, her body shaking.

"Oi, get up! You're embarrassing me!" Lincoln said. The cyborg stood up but kept that dramatic grief.

" **Do not worry, this pathetic streak of failure will continue no longer!** "

"Uh, yeah, sure, whatever. Let's just go." He said, turning back to go home. Twenty-Three nodded, following him. Lincoln held the paper up to his face, studying the score. 71. "It's not like these class-rankings mean anything anyways." He said, more to make himself feel better than anything.

" **Usually, it works the same as the threat levels. Depending on the threat, you call a hero with a high enough rank to handle it.** "

"Oh. So, you S-classes must get called a lot, huh?" Lincoln said. Twenty-Three shook her head.

" **Only for actual threats. The higher ones that most heroes can't handle.** " She said. Lincoln smiled at the thought of that challenge.

"Sounds fun." He said. Then he blanched. "Wait, since I'm in the lowest class, does that mean I won't be called for any strong guys?!"

" **As a hero, you can participate in a battle, though because your rank is so low, the will not actively seek you out for help with a villain or monster. In fact, they will most likely ask you to avoid the threat altogether.** "

"Great. So I'm stuck catching pickpockets while you get an actual challenge."

" **Do not worry. I'm sure you'll rise through the ranks quickly. With the next threat, all we have to do is make sure that the civilians see you take down a strong monster.** "

"Why do _they_ need to see me do it?" Lincoln asked, with an eyebrow raised.

" **The ranks of the association work in terms of strength between the heroes. But the public image works as well. Take my friend, Mumen Rider, for example. He's as weak as they come, but no one works harder or believes in heroism more than him. It was only through his constant efforts that he was able to rise to rank 1 of C-class.** "

"Really? He sounds like a cool guy." Lincoln said. "Well, it's not like I care about these stupid ranks anyways. As long as I can still be a hero, I'm good."

" **As expected of you,** " Twenty-Three said a small smile on her face. " **I doubt the words of the association will stop you from engaging in any fight you want.** "

"Oh, that's right!" Lincoln said, brightening. Twenty-Three looked at him, confused. "I gotta think of a cool superhero name!"

" **. . . Actually . . .** " Twenty-Three said. Lincoln looked at her.

"What, don't tell me C-classes don't get hero names?" Lincoln asked, looking disappointed.

" **No, it's just . . . the system of the association makes it so that the _public_ chooses our name for us.**"

". . . _No,_ " Lincoln said, eyes widening in fear. "Oh, no, no, no, no."

" **Although you currently only have two fans, one has already put a name into the system. As soon as it gets more than fifty votes, that will be your chosen name."**

"What is it?"

" **. . . Lincoln, I-"**

" _What. Is._ _It?_ " He said slowly. He only looked at the ground, sweating profusely.

" **. . . White Rabbit.** "

". . ."

" **. . .** "

". . . Twenty-Three?"

" **Yes.** "

"I'm going home."

" **I understand.** "


	8. Punch 8 (A Calm Start)

Lincoln woke up with a groan, sitting up from the futon and stretching his back. He scratched his head as his eyes stayed half closed groggily. The sunlight shown through the open blinds of his balcony, from where he entered his house last night. He thought to himself that he probably shouldn't make a habit of that. He tossed the blankets of his legs and stood up, leaning back and stretching his spine. He smacked his dry lips as he made his way to the kitchen.

" **Good Morning, Lincoln-tan.** " He heard Twenty-Three's voice come from the room where she slept.

" _Hmm._ " He grumbled back, opening the fridge to get some milk.

" **Did you get enough sleep last night?** "

" _MmmHmm._ " He replies, grabbing the cereal and pouring into one of the now clean bowls.

" **Good. I trust that you are ready to start your hero work today.** " Twenty-Three said.

"Yeah, totally." He yawned. "Man, my back is aching. I must have slept weird last night."

" **Should I help? I do have several types of massage techniques stored in my database.** "

"No, I'm okay. Probably just need to stretch." He said, opening the fridge. He looked around for a second. "Did we remember to get milk?"

" **Yes, we are fully restocked with basic necessities.** " Twenty-Three said.

"Cool." Lincoln poured his bowl. "Well, I guess I better start getting ready for some patrolling."

" **Oh? What part of the city are you patrolling today?** "

"Maybe the downtown area. Are there a lot of heroes there?"

" **At the moment, I don't think so. It seems that we have gotten quite lucky with the lack of heroes patrolling today. If there is crime happening, then we should be the ones to stop it.** "

"Oh, you're coming with me?" Lincoln asked. Twenty-Three nodded.

" **As you're guardian, it's my job to make sure you stay safe.** "

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Lincoln said, stretching his arms in the air. "Give me a minute to finish and then we can go."

* * *

 _(Later)_

Lincoln stepped out of his apartment, his hero suit freshly washed. As much as she annoyed him, he had to admit Twenty-Three was a thousand times better than him at regular everyday stuff. Like cleaning and cooking. He never really bothered to learn how to do those things properly. As long as he didn't get sick or didn't smell, he was content. However, after seeing how she cleaned stuff, he felt like a dirty hobo.

" **Lincoln-tan, the S-class heroes have been called for a meeting today. I will have to leave for it around noon.** " Twenty-Three said as they started to walk down the street.

"What, really? Is there an emergency?"

" **No, it's just like a regular board meeting, just giving us information that me may want to know, changes in the payment process, stuff like that.** "

"Oh, I see. Glad I'm not in the S-class then, I would hat to have to go into a boring old meeting that early."

" **Oh, the meeting's at three. I just have to spend about two hours convincing Tatsumaki to go, and another one to drag her across town to the headquarters.** "

"Sounds like chore."

" **It is** **. She hates meetings with a passion. As do many others in the S-class, but I have enough trouble babysitting one.** "

"Ha, sucks to be responsible, huh?"

" **Honestly? Yes. But if I'm not, then Tatsumaki will run rampant.** "

"I know she can be a brat, but is she really that bad?"

" **Yes.** "

"Oh."

" **Even given how she looks, s** **he has a tendency to not act her age.** "

"How old _is_ she?"

" **28**."

"...you're pulling my chain."

" **I assure you, no chains are being pulled right now.** "

"Then how the hell does she look my age? I know some people look young but that's just ridiculous."

" **There were some things that went on in her past. I'd much rather not speak about it.** "

"Okay." Lincoln said, distracted by a shiny car that drove past. "You know, you speak about her more like a colleague than a girlfriend." Twenty-Three sighed.

" **We had a fight last night. It's nothing new, but she can be so infuriating sometimes. She's just so stubborn and proud. I sometimes think I care too much of what she thinks of me to be healthy.** "

"So what keeps you with her?"

" **It's...really complicated. And I'm sorry, but I'm just not comfortable enough to go to deep into it right now.** "

"Nah, it's-"

" **I just don't know what to do.** "

"Okay, you seriously need to stop-"

" **Each time I get in closer, she gets more on edge.** "

"Listen, I want to feel bad for you, but if you keep-"

" **I do love her**."

"You're not listening, are you?"

" **But her feelings about...anything are really to hard for me to pinpoint.** **I just-** " Lincoln put his hand over her mouth to get her to stop talking, stopping them both dead in their tracks.

"Can I speak now?" Lincoln said. Twenty-Three blinked. "Good. Look, it's obvious you're really self-conscious about this whole best thing to do is probably just try and talk to her about how you're feeling. I'm getting the vibe that you're the one who puts in the most effort in your relationship, and that's just not how those things go. I'm not pretending that I know much about relationships, but I am giving you the best advice I can. Nod if you get it."

She nodded.

"Good. Now, I'm letting go of your face, but interrupt me one more time and I swear to god I'm kicking you out." He let go of her face. She just smirked, although there was a feeling of appreciation behind it.

" **Thanks, Akio.** "

"Lincoln."

" **Right. Sorry.** "

"Who the heck is Akio? This is the second time you've called me that name."

" **...Maybe I'll tell you one day.** "

"Okay, now that's just a douche move. Even for a perv like you."

" **I'M NOT A PERV!"**

"Don't yell. People will start staring."

* * *

Luna blinked her eyes open, sitting up. She immediately sat up, recognizing that she was in a hospital room. She twirled her head around, trying get her bearings.

"Luna, calm down." Someone said. Luna looked over to see Sam sitting down across from her bed.

"Sam, what happened?" Luna asked. "That monster, did-"

"Luna! Calm...down." Sam said. "Just...breathe."

"Right, right." Luna said, breathing slowly. "...The monster, did we-"

"It's gone. Demon Cyborg and your brother took care of it."

"My brother?" Luna asked. "Wait, is he-"

"Don't get worked up, okay?" Sam repeated, as Luna started to breathe slowly. "You're brothers all right. He's still in Japan with Demon-"

"Wait, 'still' in Japan. Where are we?"

"We're back in the states."

"And you just left him there?!"

"Yes."

"WHAT?!" Luna yelled. It was rare to see her this worked up. But, then again, this wasn't over nothing.

"Don't work yourself up, you're still injured."

"I don't give a rat's ass! Why the hell couldn't you have brought him with you!"

"It wasn't up to me. He wanted to stay, that's it."

"So what if he wanted to stay?! You should have brought him by his goddamn ear then!"

"Look. I'm not expecting you to be happy, or understand my reasoning. But what I saw leads me to believe that Lincoln needs to be in Japan. I'm not able to explain it to you, but I'm sticking to my guts."

"What kind of bullshit is that?" Sam sighed at that.

"Look, as your friend and a hero, I would have gladly brought him back if he was in danger or at risk. But what I saw...you're just going to have to trust my judgment. Besides, we've already been ordered to stay out of Japan by the association. With all the turmoil there, the last thing they need is foreign authority, even if we are with the hero association."

"I don't give a fuck about the politics, I just want to get my brother!"

"I understand that. But I've been in contact with Demon Cyborg, and both she and I agree that it would be best for Lincoln, as well as a lot of other people, if he were to stay over there. At the very least for a couple of months."

"What the hell does _she_ know about Lincoln?"

"She's...kind of been his legal guardian...no, caretaker's a better word I think. At least while he's staying in Japan."

"He doesn't need a caretaker, he _need's_ to be with his family." Luna said, clenching her fist. "What gives you the right-"

"Nothing. But with the state of things now, this is the best we can do with what we have. Japan needs as many heroes as it can get, without causing mass hysteria among the populous."

"Well-...wait, you said 'heroes.' Are you saying Lincoln's certified?"

"Yes, a couple of days ago. Although he's only a C-class, Demon Cyborg seems pretty keen that he'll rise through the ranks pretty quickly."

"Why the hell was that allowed?! Isn't there an age-limit?!"

"Child Emperor of Japan is pretty young."

"He's a technology genius, he was an exception. No offense to my brother, but he's just a regular-ass kid!"

"Well..." Sam said, looking off to the side.

"What?"

"Nothing." Sam said, walking next to Luna. "Look, I know you're worried. I'm still a little uncomfortable with it myself. But I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think this was the only way to go about it."

"What if he meets a Dragon level threat, or forbid a God level?!"

"Luna...you're just gonna have to trust me for right now okay? He'll be able to handle it. Demon Cyborg assured me of that."

Luna huffed and crossed her arms. She stared down at the ground, away from Sam. The blonde girl sighed and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry Luna, but you never know. Maybe this could be good for his development or something."

"Weren't you the one so against him being there in the first place?"

"That was before I saw what he could do." Sam said. "You were...out of commission, but I know how strong he is. I saw what he could do. He's perfectly capable of protecting himself."

"Whatever you say, Sensei." Luna said sarcastically, turning even more away from her.

"Luna, I'm your best friend. I wouldn't do anything to hurt your brother."

"Yeah...I trust you. It's just...I don't want him there."

"I know Luna. But something's coming. And it'll help everyone if your brother's there."

"You keep saying something's coming, but that still doesn't help me understand why he has to be there."

"It isn't something I can explain. You'll just have to see it for yourself."

"I thought you said we weren't allowed in Japan."

"Not as heroes, no. But as citizens on vacation, it's completely fine." Luna spun around to her.

"Wait, really?"

"Yep. In fact." Sam reached over to a desk behind her and picked up a yellow envelope. "I have, like, 15 one way tickets in this bag, with a small budget. Courtesy of the association for helping with the Yosemite incident. Enough to last a week."

"...Sam, did you-"

"I said Lincoln had to stay in Japan. I didn't say you guys couldn't see him." Sam smiled. Luna tackled her in a bear hug. "Hey, I said to stay laying down."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." Luna chanted while squeezing harder. Sam just chuckled.

"What are friends for?" She said.

"...Yeah...friends." Luna trailed.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Good. Now lay down, moron."


	9. Punch 9 (Dorayaki)

"Hey guys, It's me!" Luna said, nervously stepping into her family's old home. She had moved out a couple of months ago for college, but it as she stepped in it was like she never left.

"Luna!" A chorus of female voices rung out as footsteps stomped towards her location. She was immediately bombarded with a barrage of hugs from seven female bodies. She struggled to keeps standing as a chorus of high-pitched voices all attempted to speak out at once.

"Guys, guys, calm down!" She laughed, attempting to pry them off of her.

"Where have you been?!" Luan asked, squeezing her tighter.

"Around. When are you leaving?" Luna said jokingly.

"Shut up." She said, too happy to even make a joke at the moment. Luna laughed as she squeezed her family back in one of their famous group hugs.

"I missed you guys, too." She said.

They stayed like that for a second, before stepping back, all faces masked with goofy smiles.

"Glad to have ya back, sis." Lynn said. "What brings you around?"

"I actually have to talk to mom and dad. Alone. Are they here?"

"What, are you dropping out?"

"No, look, just go get them, please. It's important."

* * *

" **I do not think they particularly care if you bring anything.** "

"What do you mean? If we're going to a party, I'm not going to just go empty-handed. Otherwise I'll look like a free-loading bum!"

The pair were at a local food market, looking for deals on sweets and drinks they could bring.

" **I'm sure that is not true, Lincoln-tan.** " Twenty-Three said, watching the fourteen-year-old stress out over two different kinds of pastries. " **Well, if you must bring something, have it be simple. Like chips.** "

"Are you kidding? Of course there's already going to be chips. It's a party, at least three people are bringing chips!"

" **The told you it's not a 'bring-some-food' deal, I doubt anyone but you and the host are bringing foods.** "

"Stop criticizing me and start helping! Do people like chocolate-filled or just plain more?"

" **I don't usually eat, but I assume chocolate-filled might be the most popular. However, given your hefty budget of a 1,128 yen, I suggest you stay with something a little more modest.** "

"Don't patronize me." Lincoln said, looking around. "Ooh, what about the dorayaki?"

" **It's not my money.** "

"If you're not going to help then why are you even here?" Lincoln started to fill his basket to the brim with the red-bean pancake and sweet red bean paste food.

" **I had nothing better to do.** "

"*sigh* Of course you didn't." He said, making his way to the cashier. It came out to a little more than he thought (about 1,440) but he wasn't too bothered by it. They walked out of the store an started to head back to his apartment.

"Say, who's this party for, anyways?"

" **Tatsumaki.** " She said. Lincoln stopped and looked down at his wasted budget.

"Is it too late to return these?"

" **Be nice!** "

* * *

"Wait, you're serious?" Lynn Loud Sr. said, as his hero daughter. "That's . . . that's just . . . "

"The only catch is I'm not allowed to do any hero work during this time. It's strictly for vacation."

"Thank you so much, Luna." Rita Loud said, looking like she was almost on the verge of tears. "I don't even know how to thank you."

"Don't thank me. Sam was the one who get them. Just enough for all of us, plus two more. I already have tow people in mind to take, too."

"This is just . . . wow." Lynn said again.

"I think he's appreciative too." Rita said, slightly giggling. "This is an extremely generous thing your work did for us. We would've never been able to afford that on our own, not with all the debt we're in."

"Mom, I get it. I still gotta gather up the other girls, and then we can decide when to leave."

"I know Leni will have no problem coming right away, although I might have to help her explain the situation to her counselor."

"Right, she went to fashion school. And Lori's in Texas right now, but I can bring her here."

"And none of the girls have any major activities coming up soon."

"Well, we should all be good. I actually might need you to come with me to talk to Clyde's parents."

"And I assume you're asking Ronnie-Ann to come along as well?" Rita asked with a smirk.

"Ha, of course I am. Just because I haven't seen him in forever doesn't mean I'm not gonna embarrass him. Besides, I know he'll be sad if everyone's not there."

"It's been so long." Lynn said. "I'm can't even imagine how hurt he must be."

* * *

"MY DORAYAKI!" Lincoln yelled, looking down at the charge corpse of his snacks.

" **I'M SO SORRY LINCOLN-TAN, THAT WAS UNINTENTIONAL.** " She yelled. She had used too much power to charge up a take-off, and accidentally let out an explosion.

"WHY?!"

* * *

"I don't think he has any hard feelings." Luna said. "He seemed happy to see me."

"Well, I hope he isn't mad at us." Lynn says.

"No, I don't- . . . well, he might be a little. But he'll be happy to see all of us."

"I'm sure you're right, Luna." Rita said. "Now, how about we tell the girls."

"No, need, they've been spying on us this entire time." She said.

" _No we're not!_ " A small voice yelled out, followed by a multitude of shushing.

"Lily, did you clean your room?!" Rita yelled back.

" . . . _yeees._ " Lily obviously lied.

"Well, tell the others to start packing!" Lynn said. The sounds of running footsteps echoed through the house as the girls went to their collective rooms.

"I'll go get Lori." Luna said, standing from the table.

"I just can''t believe we're going to see our baby boy again." Lynn said. "I mean, I can, but-"

"I know what you mean dear." Rita said. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see us."

* * *

"Don't talk to me." Lincoln said coldly as Twenty-Three struggled to keep up.

" **I'm Sorry!** "


	10. Punch 10 (Errand Boy)

"You're annoying. Leave."

Lincoln glared down at the green-haired girl that stood a few inches under him.

" **Tatsumaki-san, let's talk over here please.** " The cyborg intervened quickly, dragging the Esper over to a corner of the room.

Lincoln rolled his eyes before beginning to explore the mansion he was brought to. The walls were absolutely enormous, this place was no doubt _super_ expensive.

 _So,_ Lincoln thought, _this is the income of an S-class hero._

"Why'd you have to bring the brat along?" Tatsumaki asked Twenty-Three, looking over at the white-haired kid who was currently marveling at the paintings on her wall.

" **Look, I know you have a problem . . . getting to know people. Can you at least try for me, Tats?** " Twenty-Three said, putting on her best begging face possible.

"Ugh, fine. But the moment he annoys me I'm throwing him out a window." Tatsumaki said, turning to their guest.

Lincoln stared at the huge painting above him. It must have been worth millions. He could pay off rent for years with this painting.

 _I wish she would have told me she lived in a mansion a while ago,_ Lincoln thought, thinking of Twenty-Three. _Wait, if she can live here, why the hell is she free-loading off of me._

" **Lincoln-tan.** " Twenty-Three said, getting the young boy's attention.

"Yeah?"

" **You had brought something, remember?** " She tried to stimulate his memory.

"Oh, right." He said, holding up a plastic bag. "I brought some snacks. I figured it was the polite thing to do. It's just coffee jelly, since _someone_ destroyed the dorayaki."

" **I SAID SORRY!** "

"Huh, you're not as immature as you look, kid." Tatsumaki said, taking the bag from him with telekinesis.

"Hey, you're calling kid?" Lincoln-said, a vein in his forehead ticking.

" **Lincoln-tan, please behave yourself.** "

"Yeah, whatever." Lincoln said, looking around. "I just brought it cause she said you were psychic or something, and I remembered this show I watched once. Anyways, did we get here early?"

"No, there's no party." Tatsumaki said, and jerked her thumb in Twenty-Three's direction. "She just wanted to celebrate my birthday."

"Wait, it's your birthday?" Lincoln almost yelled. "Why didn't you say anything earlier, lolicon?"

" **I'M NOT A LOLICON!** "

"Yeah, it's my birthday, what of it?" She harrumphed, turning her head away from him and crossing her arms. "It's not like it matters to me or anything."

 _Tsundere_ , Lincoln thought.

" **No. Unfortunately neither of us have really a good idea on how to celebrate a birthday, so-** "

"No." Lincoln said with a straight face.

" **Y-you didn't even let me ask!** " Twenty-Three yelled.

"I'm not planning a party for that ungrateful weirdo." Lincoln said, crossing his arms.

" **Please! You're the only one I trust not to mess it up!** " She pleaded, bowing.

"Don't bow at me!" Lincoln said. "I didn't even want to come here, I'm not putting myself through the trouble of planning a partytoo!"

" **. . . Very well, I didn't want to have to do this.** " Twenty-Three stood up straight, her face a mask of cold determination.

"W-What's with that look?" Lincoln said, slightly freaked out.

" **You see, Lincoln-tan, I have a lot of pull in the Hero Association. Help me this once, and I could possibly get your name changed.** "

"Really? Why didn't you just say that in the first place!" He smirked, holding his hand so that his chin was in between his thumb and first finger. "No need to worry. I'll show you guys just how great a birthday party can be. I haven't had a proper birthday party in a couple of years, But doing it eleven times a year makes one an expert. We're kind of short on time, so I'll have to hurry."

" **Lincoln-tan, I was just hoping to keep it a small things.** "

"I already thought of that." He said. "Since you two are so popular that you get crowded everywhere you go, going out is impossible. Just give me, like, half-an-hour to get the stuff ready."

He turned and rushed out the door without another word from them. Both girls stood in silence as they looked at the open door.

". . . are you sure about this kid?" Tatsumaki said. "He annoys me."

" **Just give him a chance. You said yourself you needed to learn to socialize.** "

"Yeah, but not with brat's that have poor fashion sense." She scoffed. "I'm pretty sure anything he does will be awful.

" **You say that, but. . .** " Twenty-Three trailed off as Tatsumaki stuffed her mouth with another spoonful of coffee jelly.

"What?"

* * *

Lincoln rushed down the street, to the grocery store. He ran through the isles, picking up all the necessary but basic items he could need. He normally wouldn't spend this much, especially since he was so tight on money, but in his book, this was an emergency. When he was satisfied, he hurried through the cashier station and went to find a bakery or something to pick up a cake. He could add the letters later.

He looked down at the brand new watch on his wrist.

"Only been 25 minutes." He said out loud, hurrying to the next store.

* * *

" **What do you think he's planning?** " Twenty-Three said.

"Hmph, like I care." Tatsumaki said, turning to the living room. "I didn't want some stupid party anyways."

" **You're the one who asked for it, though.** " Twenty-Three teased.

"Whatever." Tatsumaki blushed and glared at her girlfriend. "You're the one who didn't tell me how stupid it would be."

" **Don't worry, I'm sure this'll be fun. Especially, with the others coming.** " Tatsumaki faced away from her girlfriend and din't respond. " **. . . You didn't invite anyone did you?** "

"Shut up, dummy! Like I even wanted them to come."

" **You were embarrassed weren't you?** "

"Hell no! I just didn't feel like it, okay?"

" ***Sigh* I'll go make some calls.** "

"Whatever." She harrumphed as Twenty-Three pulled out her phone.

" **I'll be on the balcony.** " Twenty-Three said, leaning down and kissing Tatsumaki on the cheek.

"Don't kiss me so suddenly, jerk!" She yelled, her face beet red. Twenty-Three laughed as she headed out to the balcony. "I hope you fall out there!"

There was a knock at the door. Tatsumaki let out an exasperated sigh and opened the door with her telekinesis.

"This better be import-"

"Get out."

* * *

Tatsumaki ended up on the balcony with Twenty-Three. She blinked in surprise as she had gotten outside with little memory of agreeing to get out here.

"Why, that-"

" **Tatsumaki, do you want Metal Bat to come to?** "

"Of course not!"

" **Okay, so it's just King, Child Emperor, and Bang. Oh, I can get Drive Knight to come, too.** "

"*Tsk* Whatever." Tatsumaki said, crossing her arms. "He better not be making a mess in there."

" **Act as hard as you want, I can tell you're excited.** " Twenty-Three said teasingly, typing in her phone.

"Hmph, I don't know why I put up with you." Tatsumaki said.

" **I do.** " She said, grabbing Tatsumaki from behind and picking her up so that one arm was holding her by the waste.

"H-Hey!" She protested, although she did very little to stop it.

" **I promised you a party, and that's what's happening.** " She said. " **Lincoln-tan's the . . . most knowledgeable one I know about this type of thing. Don't worry.** "

"Hmph, I didn't want this stupid party anyways."

" **Sure you didn't.** " Twenty-Three pecked Tatsumaki's cheek. " **For once, can you just let yourself have a good time.** "

". . . whatever." Coming form her, that was basically a yes.

" **Besides, I spent all that time making you a present, it'll be a shame for it to go to waste.** "

"Pff, no one asked you to make me a present, you nerd." Tatsumaki said, not looking Twenty-There in the eyes.

" **You didn't have to.** "

"Can you put me down now?"

" **If you wanted down, you would have been down already.** " Twenty-Three teased. Tatsumaki did her best to hid her blush. " **Oh, i think Lincoln's done. Let's go have a party.** "

Twenty-Three put down Tatsumaki down and opened the balcony door, stepping inside.

"TA-DA!" Lincoln exclaimed. Neither Twenty-Three or Tatsumaki moved.

Streamers littered the ceiling, held up by minimal amounts of tape in an extremely precise way. A banner with Tatsumaki's name painted on covered the top half on the wall. There was a small table and foldable chairs in the middle of the living room, with enough food to feed ten people. In the middle was a four layer cake. There were drinks in the kitchen, and a karaoke machine. It looked like something more of a college party than a birthday party.

"How long were we outside?"

" **How did he get alcohol?** "

"Cool, right?" He said. "And get this, it was all on sale! Score!"

" **Okay, but how did you get alcohol?** "

"That's not important." Lincoln said. "I held up my end of the deal, now it's your turn!"

" **All right, all right, but at least tell me where you got it from.** "

"I ain't no snitch."

 _Knock, knock, knock._

The sound of knocking on the door interrupted the conversation.

" **That must be the guests.** " Twenty-Three said. " **Right on time.** "

"Wait, just how many people are coming? They better not make a mess!" Tatsumaki yelled, making her way over to the door.

"Well, I'm going to leave." Lincoln said, turning to the balcony.

" **Wait, you're not staying?** " Twenty-Three asked.

"I didn't even want to come here in the first place. I'm leaving before you make me your errand boy again."

" **Oh, okay. At least let me get someone to escort you home-** "

"I don't need an escort, I'll be fine." He said, stepping outside. "Just remember you promised to change my name!"

He jumped down. When he landed, a small could of dust kicked up and got all over the legs of his jumpsuit. He wiped them off and started to walk down the driveway. Usually he would run, especially given how late it was getting, but he felt like taking things slow right now. Besides, if he really needed to, he could rush home real quick later.

As he was walking down the driveway, he noticed three cars parked there. He figured they must have been people here for the party.

 _Huh, the weird girl actually has friends._ He thought. He shook his head as he thought about how a girl like that was so popular.

"Hey!" He heard someone yell. Lincoln stopped in his tracks and turned around. There, just outside of one of the cars, stood a small brown-haired kid with a backpack.

 _What? Who is this kid?_ Then his eyes widened in fear. _No, don't tell me. . . that perv got another one?!_

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" The brown-haired kid yelled.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Lincoln yelled back from the bottom of the driveway. "Don't tell me the cyborg forcing you to come here."

"What? No, Demon-san invited me. I want to know what you're doing here."

"Leaving." Lincoln said with a straight face. "Why are you stopping me?"

"I've never seen you before, and you're just hanging outside of Tornado-san's place." He said, clutching his backpack tighter. "Now that I think about it, there's no way you just ended up here. You're a C-class hero, but a hero nonetheless. Are you looking to mooch off her success?"

"Like I need to mooch anything off that jerk." Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Wait, how did you know I was a C-class?"

"Hmph, how are you even a hero if you don't recognize someone of S-class rank?"

"Wait, what?" Lincoln said, looking up and down at the kid. "You're an S-class?"

"Hmph, I knew you would say that." The kid smirked. "I am the S-class hero, Child Emperor, and I-"

"Good job!" Lincoln said, giving the kid a thumbs up.

"I- . . . what?" The kid, Child Emperor, said while looking visibly confused.

"You can't be that much younger than me, but you're already an S-class. That's pretty cool!" Lincoln said, giving him another thumbs up. "Anyways, I'm heading out. Enjoy the party!"

Lincoln turned around and walked happily the other way. Child Emperor was too confused to do anything, and refused to admit that tears were welling in his eyes from happiness.

Lincoln continued walking home joyfully. He thought he was the only person his age in the hero organisation, but apparently there was someone his age in the S-class. That made him feel less of a fish-out-of-water than anything at the very least.

He wondered whether he should try and be friends with that guy.

 _Come to think of it, I've been here for almost four years now, and I've only managed to make one friend._ He said. _I guess it's cause I'm so quiet. I should try making more friends here._

Thinking of making friends here got him thinking of his friends back home. He wondered if he should try and get in touch with them soon.

 _It's been a while, so I should at least try and send a letter or something._

He thought about stopping by the post office, but they would probably be closed around this time. It would be better for him to go tomorrow he guessed. In the meantime, he would relax for-

 **BOOOOM!**

-then again, maybe not.

 _Well, the week's almost up anyways, so this is a good thing._ He sighed. _Let's get this over with._


	11. Punch 11 (Underestimated)

**Hey, guys. So, just a quick message to promote my other account, _Stalokills_.**

 **I made that account first. The pieces on this one mostly focus on anime-related universes and powers, while the other account is for ones that don't have those direct influences of stories or characters. I did this because...well, I just wanted to. So, if you like the stories on this account, go check out some of the pieces I made on that one.**

 **If you're not a usual fan of anime related stuff, that account's good for you. If you're a strict anime-only type, that's good too.**

 **Although I suppose working on like 6 or 7 stories at a time might be a bad idea, I have too many ideas in my head and if I don't get them down, then they just vanish.**

 **Anyways, most of the pieces on that already have a decent amount of chapters, so feel free to explore it. Thanks!**

* * *

Lincoln jumped from the ground from a running position, flying up through the air and landing on the roof of a building. He peeked over the edge to look down on the damage below. Surprisingly, it wasn't that much, just a small crater in the ground. Enough to cause a panic of course, but not enough for it to be an exceptionally strong monster. At least this fight wouldn't take up too much of his time.

He jumped down towards the ground. As he fell downwards, he saw a small flash of light concealed just barely behind the smoke rising from the crater. He blinked as a small ball of yellow light and heat flew past his face, hitting the building behind him. It exploded, propelling him forward just a little.

 _Geez, that almost hit me!_ He thought as he landed. He stood up straight, looking into the smoke, trying to catch some sign of life in there.

"Hey, you gonna come out or am I gonna have to go in?" He asked loudly. There was a moment of silence without an answer. "All right, guess I'm going in."

He walked forward to the crater, paradoxically careless yet careful as usual. He stepped through the smoke and was out of it fairly quickly.

Looking down in front of him, he saw a small being crouched down, its hands wrapped around its knees. It would have looked fairly human to him, except it had pitch black eyes staring up at him and the long purple hair coming down. He blinked in surprise as it crouched there and stared at him.

" _You're different._ " It whispered in the voice of a little girl. " _I wonder why?_ "

"Are you the one responsible for all this?" He asked, setting his fists on his hips as if he were scolding a child.

" _No, it was Big Brother._ " She said. Lincoln blinked.

"Big-" He was cut off by a punch to his face, launching him thirty feet in the opposite direction. He slammed into a building, which covered him in concrete debris.

The dust and rubble finally settled, and he saw a tall monster, extremely buff and with different shapes orifices.

"Oh."

* * *

What?" Child Emperor said, surprised. "A monster attack?"

" **And so close to the Tornado's home.** " Twenty-Three only used Tatsumaki's hero-name, to hide their personal relationship from their colleagues. Of course, anyone with a brain could see what was going on between them outside of work, but inside they remained as separate as possible to avoid complicating things. " **Either this monster is very strong, or very stupid.** "

"Most likely the latter." Bang, S-class rank 3, said, sipping on his punch. He quietly listened to the report given by the association.

" **If there was an attack, then no doubt Lincoln-tan is caught in the middle of it,** " Twenty-Three said. Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow.

"The albino brat? Why they even let a brat like him become a hero, I'll never know." She huffed, crossing her arms. Child Emperor shot a glare in her direction out of the corner of his eye but that was all. King stood silently in the corner of the room, the familiar sound of the King's Engine growing louder and louder.

" **Nevertheless, I must go to help him.** " She said. A flash of disappointment showed on Tatsumaki's face.

"Hmph, like I care." She said, crossing her arms. "Go help the runt if you must."

"I would like to come, as well." Child Emperor spoke up. Everyone looked at him strangely, not remembering when the Child Emperor had met the white-haired boy.

" **Are you sure, Child Emperor?** " Twenty-Three asked. The young S-class nodded, meeting Twenty-Three's questioning look. The cyborg shrugged and moved to leave, Child Emperor close behind. L

* * *

Lincoln jumped down from the hole in the building, landing on the street below him. He brushed the dust off his shoulders and looked at the monster that had attacked him.

"I guess you're her 'Big Bro,' huh?" He asked. The monster stalked closer to him, it's body shivering and pulsating as it didn't say anything out loud, most likely only to itself.

Lincoln realized that talking wasn't going to do much. At least most of the other monsters he beat actually spoke to him, but the last two-

Wait, this one looked just like the one that attacked Zendrant city, and the one that he and Twenty-Three had faced when they first met ( _Chapters 1 and 2_ ). That little girl called this thing "Big Brother." They had to be connected in some way. If they were more of these guys, then they could cause a lot of damage.

"Oi, you, whatever your name is!" Lincoln yelled at the little-girl-monster. It looked in his direction but didn't speak. "How many brothers you got?!"

" _That's a strange question._ " It said, somehow its whisper reaching him over that distance. " _You're strange._ "

"You're strange." Lincoln shot back nonchalantly. The girl monster blinked.

" _I just have Big Brother. He keeps getting hurt, so I keep having to help him_." She said, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, still crouched. Every wing seemed shaky and slow, like a video game character that was lagging.

"So, it's just this guy?" He said to himself. "That means if I want this guy to stay down, I'll have to take out that one over there. But she looks really human, so I don't know if I'll be able to do that."

The monster charged at him, and Lincoln easily tossed it aside with a right hook. It skidded along the ground and stopped about twenty feet away.

"Hey, girl, you got a name?" Lincoln asked. The girl monster blinked.

" _Why are you asking me that?_ " She asked him.

"It's rude to answer a question with a question," Lincoln said. He didn't know if it was, but it was the only idea he had in his pocket. The girl was quiet for a moment.

" _Yuni._ " She said. She looked over at where the monster was shaking the pain off. " _That's Sota._ "

"All right, Yuni-san. Can you get your brother to stop being mean?" He had plenty of practice persuading his sisters, so she shouldn't be any different. If this didn't work, he would just have to go ahead and punch her.

" _No._ " She shook her head. " _Father said to let Brother hurt people_."

"Father?" Lincoln blinked, surprised. Was there a stronger monster out there? "Who's your Father?"

" _He's a scientist._ " She said. " _He makes Big Brother stronger._ "

"A scientist?" _So he's human?_ Lincoln thought. This was getting weirder.

The monster jumped on him again, only to be punched to the right this time, landing another 20 feet that way.

" _Yes. He said if we do what he says, he'll make it stop._ " She said, seeming to hug herself tighter. Lincoln blinked, not liking where this was going.

"Stop what?"

She never answered though, she just kept rocking back and forth.

" **Lincoln-tan!** " He heard a familiar robotic voice yell. He turned and saw Twenty-Three jump down towards him, close behind her was the kid he saw a while ago.

"Oh, it's you guys." He said as they landed on the other side of the street. They ran towards him.

" **There was a report of a monster. Are you all right?** "

"Yeah, I was just taking care of it. I'm fine." He said as they stopped next to him. He looked over to where the monster was getting up again. Twenty-Three frowned.

" **That one looks oddly familiar.** " She said.

"Yeah, it's apparently the same one that you fought when you met me." He said. Her eyes widened.

" **What?! How is that possible?** " She almost yelled.

"The girl over there says that she 'helps him when he gets hurt.' I guess she can bring it back from the dead."

"So, we just have to get rid of that girl, then?" Child Emperor said, uninterested. He must have thought there was more of a challenge.

"Not yet. I think there's more to this, she mentioned something about a 'Father.' I want to question here more."

"First we gotta take care of the big guy."

" **I agree. That seems the much more present threat.** " She said. " **However, if the one over there is indeed capable of healing him, then this will be difficult.** "

"I'll take care of that one," Lincoln said. "Can you get her somewhere she can be questioned?"

"But you're just a C-class. I think it would be better if you let us handle this, Lincoln-san." Child Emperor said, pulling out a tablet from his pack. "No offense to you, but I would prefer to keep the damage to a minimum."

Lincoln looked at the smaller boy, confused. The monster jumped once again, this time launching itself at Child Emperor this time. The young S-class quickly typed away on his tablet.

Just as the monster was about to land on him, two large metal appendages shot out from the heroes backpack and impaled the monsters' legs. It was stopped in its tracks.

" **Will you two be able to handle it on your own?** " She asked. Lincoln nodded in confirmation, a little ticked at the direction this fight was going in.

Twenty-Three went to secure the girl as the monster swung its fist at them. Another appendage shot out of Child Emporer's bag and impaled the monster's arm.

"This monster relies solely on physical strength. While it is strong, it's intelligence is lacking." Another appendage shot out, and all four appendages launched the S-class hero backward as the monster used its free arm to smash the ground where Child Emporer was. The young S-class typed away furiously on his tablet, as the metal appendages shifted and changed to what he needed.

 _This thing is no problem for me,_ Child Emporer thought with a smirk, _I think just one shot from my new toy should get it done._ He typed away on his tablet, summoning one of his drones from his lab. _It was a little far, but with the rockets that were upgraded recently, it should be here in less than 40 seconds. Should just hold it off enough to get a good shot in._

The monster charged at him with incredible speed, but his reflexes were faster. His appendages jumped him out of the way and up the side of a building. There he made his plan of attack. He detached one of the appendages by hand, leaving him with three. He jumped towards the ground. As he landed, the monster was on him, but he was prepared for this. He dodged just under the monster's swing. Two of his appendages shot up and impaled the monster's arms yet again.

He used his last appendage to shove the detached one through its chest and into the concrete below. Child Emporer jumped back as the metal retracted on itself, opening on both ends to anchor the monster to the ground.

"This is over." Child Emporer said as the large drone arrived overhead. It needed only a second of charging while the Monster attempted to remove the anchor from its body, but it was too late. With a bright orange light, the drone shot a beam of intense energy at the monster, hitting it dead center. It exploded on impact heat and fire enveloping the thing's body entirely, destroying a large portion of the concrete underneath. But something was wrong. The explosions from his test with this drone were usually bigger than that.

The white-haired boy watched the fight from a distance.

"Wow, that was a pretty cool fight, dude," Lincoln said in awe as if he was watching something from a television show. Child Emporer proudly smirked at the older boy.

"Well, it's-" He was cut off as one of his appendages suddenly shot out again without his command.

 _Huh?_ Was all he could think before being launched to the side. His two other legs shot out and rolled, shielding his body from the concrete. When he was upright, he saw that the monster had gotten up again. _What? That blast should've been enough to kill it._

That's when he saw that the monster's eye was glowing bright orange.

 _It must have absorbed most of the energy from the blast. Damn, if I didn't have automatic defense on I probably would be dead._ The monster's eye glowed brighter for a moment before it thrust its arms out and shot the energy at the S-class. He jumped out of the way quickly, barely escaping the outer explosion. After the dust settled, the glow was gone from the monster. _So, it can absorb energy and shoot it back out, but only once. Or is it just as much as I put in? Nevermind, looks like I'll have to avoid any attacks based on energy. I should have been more careful with this thing._

The monster charged at Child Emporer again, but he was prepared. He charged head-on, barely dodging under its arm. Two of his appendage shot through the monster's body and threw it off to the side. As soon as it hit the pavement though, it got up again.

 _The wounds are already gone. It must have some kind of healing factor, but how good is it. Just impaling the body does nothing, I should try cutting off a limb next._

The monster charged again, and once again Child Emporer dodged. He brought up one appendage, but the monster spun and grabbed it with a speed that it didn't possess before. Child Emporer panicked and attempted to jump back, but not before the monster destroyed the appendage.

 _Damn it, has it been holding back? I may not be able to use energy, but turrets should be enough to immobilize it long enough to cut off its arms. That's this thing's only weapon._

He quickly typed away on his tablet, going on the defensive as he attempted to stay out of the monster's reach. Just stay out long enough for his drones to get, only a couple more seconds. It chased him through the streets of the city. Luckily by now, the police had evacuated the immediate residents, so there wouldn't be any collateral damage. Still, there was the occasional straggler that he had to be aware of. This thing was a lot faster than it was before, and it had some hidden abilities that it didn't know about, but it was still stupid.

When the drones did get there, Child Emporer was still just outside of that thing's reach. They wouldn't fire if he was so close in proximity. This, he was prepared for. He threw an adhesive C4 charge at it, which just barely attached on its foot. But that was enough. He used his legs as a shield, throwing himself to the right as the charge exploded, knocking off balance and sending it tumbling. The drones activated almost immediately, all six of them firing on major body parts and appendages. He had made sure that these rounds were anti-tank rounds, specialized in piercing even the hardest of metals, in case this thing decided to get a little more resistant to damage.

"Cut off the limbs, but focus attacks on the head." Child Emporer said to himself, typing away on his tablet. The monster roared as its body was pierced hundreds of times, its healing factor not quite able to keep up with the damage being dealt to its body. Child Emporer the machines on the back to extend blades in preparation for his attack. "All right, now!"

The shooting stopped and Child Emporer was on it. He lifted his appendages and brought them down in a cutting motion. But suddenly, the monster was on its feet, and both hands grabbed the appendages in midair. Before Child Emporer could react, the monster pulled in opposite directions, ripping the appendages right out of the backpack. Child Emporer panicked and jumped back out of the reach of the monster. He reached to type on his tablet, only to find it gone from his hand.

 _Where . . . ?_ He then spotted it, right under the feet of the monster. It stomped on it, crushing it to pieces. _This is bad. This thing is a lot tougher than I anticipated._

Meanwhile, Lincoln looked on from the rooftop above. _Maybe I should step in now,_ he thought as he jumped down.

The monster charged and Child Emporer, who put his fists up and braced for the fight before the monster was suddenly gone from his sight. The S-class hero blinked as he looked around for where it went.

"Hey, you okay dude?" Lincoln asked, suddenly in front of Child Emporer. The younger boy blinked and looked over at him, wondering where he came from. Suddenly, there was the thud sound of a body hitting the ground, and Child Emporer looked behind him to see the monster on the ground a good 30 feet away from him.

"Wait, how-"

"I guess it's my turn." Lincoln walked past the younger boy and towards the monster. "This thing is strong, I'm getting excited," he said with a smile.

The monster got up shakily, the sudden punch had nearly destroyed its body, and the drop had shaken it up a little bit. It saw new prey to fight, and it charged blindly with rage. Lincoln pulled back his fist, deciding to put a little more power in this punch, just to see how much this thing could take. When the monster got to him, Lincoln planted the punch dead center in its chest.

There was a gust of wind as the monster was knocked slightly back before its chest exploded in a rain of blood that splatters the building more than fifty feet behind it. The limbs and head of the monster fell limp to the floor. Lincoln blinked, looking down at the monster.

". . . damn it," the white-haired boy sighed. "One punch again."


	12. Punch 12 (Hayami)

Ronnie Anne stretched herself awake, yawning into the morning sun. She most likely woke up too early, again. School had let out a week ago, but she was still in the process of adjusting into the summer life. Had she still lived in Michigan, they would have let out a lot earlier than that.

Damn it, she promised herself she would stop thinking about Michigan. Thinking about that made her think about him.

Great, she just woke up and she was already in a sour mood. She groaned inwardly as she got up and dressed for the day.

* * *

She poured cereal in bowls for all the kid residents of the household, as she did every morning for the past two years since Carlota and Bobby moved out. It was a lot emptier around here without them even now, especially since they moved to Indiana partly for the extra space for all the people. They just happened to move out as soon as they moved in. But she didn't complain. She had been all too eager to move to Indiana, about two years ago. After all, there was no reason for her to want to stay in Michigan.

"Morning, Ron," the young girl heard her cousin, Carl, speak groggily as he entered the kitchen. She glanced back just once at him before smirking.

"Morning, bed-head," she remarked sarcastically. The younger boy paused as he was pulling a chair out from the table to reach and touch his hair.

"Damn it, I forgot to do my hair again," he chastised himself as he ran back upstairs.

"Langauge!" She yelled after him, knowing he wouldn't listen. He only ever let that word slip around her, and maybe CJ if he was really annoyed, but he never dared go past that. At least, not at home. She smiled to herself as she thought about her family. At some point, they had stopped being cousins and started being siblings. She supposed that was what happened after living with people for so long.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and her inner smile bled out a little. Putting down the cardboard box, she pulled out her phone.

 _Morning - J_

 _That's all? No "good morning" or paragraph praising me? - R_

 _You're lucky I'm even conscious this early._ That was true. He had at least 10 tardies just from oversleeping last year.

 _Ur right. What's the occasion?_

 _What, you forget already?_

 _Must've slipped my mind_

She put the phone away just long enough to finish her chore, smiling to herself. Jackson was the first local she met, although not by choice. He had been chosen to show the new girl to her classes since they had miraculously ended up with the exact same schedule. They started hanging out at lunch a week later. A couple of months later they started hanging outside of school almost every day.

Two years later they started dating. It would their two year anniversary today, she thought.

 _Got something special planned. - J_

 _What is it? - R_

 _You'll just have to see :) - J_

And that was all she was getting out of him for right now. Geex, sometimes he was too sweet for his own good.

"Morning, Ronnie," Carlos said as he walked into the kitchen. Reading, as usual.

"Good morning," she said, stuffing her face with a spoonful of cereal as she texted Jackson.

 _Ya know, my brother's making a scene rn - J_

 _Why? - R_

 _Why do ya think? Dude's obsessed with telenovelas, he keeps complaining about every little thing are you doing? - J_

 _Must not be that impressive then XD - R_

 _Says you. Like the skating rink's the most romantic place in the universe - J_

 _I already told you, I'm just a low-key type of girl. - R_

 _You just want to see me fall on my face. - J_

 _True. I'm just cool chilling with you - R_

 _Yeah, but we could do that anywhere. Even the arcade's better than that - J_

 _Not the arcade. - R_

 _Why not? - J_

 _Just no - R_

 _? - J_

She just looked at the question mark and then proceeded to change the subject.

If she was being completely honest with herself, the arcade reminded her too much of him, and that was the last thing she needed today. After all this time, she didn't know why she was still hung up on him.

It's not they actually dated. It's not she was the one who went away, or whatever happened. It's not like she was the one who stopped writing. She wasn't the one who changed. At first, it was fine, there was a three-page letter every two weeks at least. But that turned to a month, to every other month. Three pages turned to one, which turned into half a page. Even reading them, she could just feel his disinterest. Like he was slowly caring less and less.

She _was_ the one who waited half a year for another letter before giving up, and another year after that before moving on. She was the one who mailed at least ten times before giving up on a reply. She was the one who decided if anyone was going to make her happy, it was herself. It certainly wasn't _him_. And besides, what kind of eleven-year-old could properly hold a long-distance relationship anyways.

 _Damn it, Ronnie, you're rambling again,_ she thought, sighing out loud. Her aunt heard this, looking over at her from the adjacent side of the table.

"Something wrong, Ronni?" The older woman carefully asked. Ronnie smiled reassuringly at her.

"Nothing, just stressed out today, ya know."

"Yeah, you gotta meet your _boyfriend_ after all," Carl said snarkily, sticking his tongue out. Which wasn't the smartest idea since she was in perfect pulling range.

She finished her bowl as the younger boy nursed his tongue. As she washed her bowl, somewhere in the background the house phone rang, and Ronnie headed to her room to bum around for a bit before heading out to meet Jackson.

She wondered what he had planned for her today. Probably not something too exciting, he was just as low-key as she was, but she had surprised him in the past. Maybe-

"Ronnie, it's for you!" She heard her mother call.

The Hispanic girl stopped in her tracks and looked back into the living room in confusion.

"Who is it?"

"Luna Loud! Remember, form the Loud family?!"

"Yeah, I remember." She said, more confused than she was before. She barely talked to Lori, and she was _engaged_ to Bobby. She walked back into the living room and took up the phone.

" _Ronnie?_ " Yeah, that sounded like Luna. If she even remembered what the girl sounded like.

"Yeah."

" _Hey, it's Luna._ "

"I know."

" _Uh, right . . . anyways, I was calling cause, well, I was wondering if you had any plans for a trip this summer?_ "

"No, not really, why?"

" _Well, the Hero Association just gave me some-_ "

"Wait, the Hero Association? You're a hero?"

" _Oh, yeah, you didn't know. I'm A-Class, rank 27 international._ " Ronnie Anne could basically feel the pride radiating over the phone. She would have been annoyed if that wasn't so damn cool. " _Well, anyways, the Association gave me some tickets donated by a generous sponsor for a trip overseas to Japan, and I had a couple of extra tickets left. I was wondering if you wanted to, ya know, tag along?_ "

"Really? Why ask me? I mean, I know I'm about to be your sister-in-law and all, but it's not exactly like we're close or anything."

" _Well, I just- . . . wait, did you just say 'sister-in-law?'"_

"Huh, yeah. Bobby and Lori are engaged aren't they?"

" _Since when?!"_

"A week ago."

" _I mean, I was on Hero business, but you'd think they'd at least try to call or text me something that- . . . nevermind, I just saw it on my phone. Haha_ ," an obviously fake laugh. " _Um, anyways, I wanted you to come because we're going to see Lincoln, and-_ "

"No."

There was a pause at the other end of the line. Obviously, Luna wasn't expecting that answer.

". . . _Oh, uh, okay. You must be busy, right?_ "

"Not particularly. I just don't want to see him."

" _. . . Um, okay, I see._ _Well, if you change your mind, you can just text Bobby and he'll_ -"

"I won't. Bye Luna." She hung up.

She recognized she was being harsh. She didn't care.

Why now? Of all days, on her anniversary. She had moved on. And to make matters worse, it wasn't even him that asked, it was his freaking sister. He didn't even care enough to call her himself, or write her, or text her, or _anything_! It wasn't even about any romantic relationship. Even if he just wanted to see her as a friend, just ghosting someone for two years isn't something you can just get over.

She stormed up to her room and slammed the door. She needed to get a grip on herself before she went to see someone who actually cared about her.

* * *

Lincoln turned around to look at Child Emporer.

"Sorry, you looked like you were struggling so I stepped in. Hope you don't mind."

The S-class did not say anything, he just continued to stare at the white-haired boy. Suddenly, Lincoln remembered Twenty-Three and the little girl.

"Hye, we should go check on Twenty-Three, make sure she's okay," Lincoln said as he started jogging back to where he had left the cyborg. Child Emporer lagged for a second, before shaking his head clear and following behind.

"Oi, Twenty-Three, you good over there?" Lincoln yelled as the two figures came into view.

" **Yes,** " Twenty-Three said, the girl next to her with her wrists bound. " **She was surprisingly compliant.** "

"Well, that's good, I guess. What should we do with her?"

" **I shall take her to the Hero Association for questioning. They will decide what to do after that.** "

"I should do it," Lincoln said, making his way over to them.

" **Lincoln-tan, I appreciate it, but-** "

"Dude, don't argue with me. You're missing the party I worked hard to put together for you."

" **Lincoln-tan, you do know it's for-** "

"I know, I just refuse to believe I did something nice for someone so unpleasant. No offense." Lincoln grabbed the girl by her forearm. "Besides, won't she get mad at you if you don't get back soon."

" **. . . very well, but only if Child Emporer agrees to accompany you. It will go a lot smoother if an S-class hero is present.** "

"That cool with you, dude?" Lincoln asked, looking over at Child Emporer.

"O-Oh, that's not necessary. I requested a crew for clean-up just before the fight started. They should be here shortly."

"Oh, so we just have to wait here then."

" **I see, well then I'll be on my way,** " the cyborg turned away from them, " **please notify me as soon as the Hero Association takes her into custody.** " The cyborg girl launched off into the sky, leaving the three figures alone.

Lincoln looked at the girl, who was staring at the ground not moving a muscle.

"Oi, Yuni, was it? You mind answering some questions real quick?" The girl did not respond. "Not talking, huh?"

Lincoln looked over at Child Emporer, who was staring at him.

"Hey, your name's Child Emporer, right? Or, at least that's your hero name?"

"Are you really a C-class?" Lincoln blinked.

"Uh, I kind of asked you a question first, but yeah, I'm a C-class."

"May I ask you what happened at your test that gave you that score?"

"Uh, sure, I guess. Well, I got a perfect score on the physical test, it's the written exam that got me." Lincoln scratched his head embarrassed.

"'Why do you want to be a hero?' What did you answer?"

"For fun," the white-haired boy shrugged.

". . . that's it?"

"Yeah. That's pretty much it. I mean, the whole reason I stayed in Japan was to be a hero and stuff. I just never really thought about _why_ before. I just . . . I don't know, liked doing it, I guess."

"I see . . . still, the strength you displayed was at the very least A-class level."

"Yeah, you put up a pretty good fight too, man."

"Hmph. The only reason I was in that predicament was that I underestimated the enemy. Had I been smarter and used more of my resources you probably would not have had to step in."

". . . You know, you remind me of my sister Lisa." Child Emporer looked up at him confused.

"How so?"

"She's a hundred times smarter than me, but sometimes she lets her smarts get to her head and rushes into something thinking she already has the solution. Although I can't really say anything since I do that all the time," the boy laughed nervously. Child Emporer blinked at him.

"You're weird, you know that?" Lincoln just shrugged.

"It's a part of my charm," he joked.

"You must have low standards, then."

"Hey, don't be a dick." Lincoln shifted his focus back onto the monster girl. When he first got here she was at least a little talkative, but now it looked like the lights were on but nobody was home.

"The clean-up crews here." Child Emporer said, turning around. Lincoln followed his gaze as six large silver fans pulled up behind him. How had he not noticed them when there were driving up?

"Thank god, I have to do some chores," the truth was, he wanted to go home and go to sleep after spending the last couple of hours being an errand boy, he just didn't want to sound lazy in front of Child Emporer. Workers in jumpsuits poured out of the van, quickly chaining and restraining the monster girl in handcuffs and specialized chains, taking her off of Lincoln's hands. They quickly took it into a van and closed the doors after it, driving off not shortly after.

"Ah, Child Emporer, I see you were the one to respond to the monster attack," a man in a suit had come up and greeted the S-class cheerfully.

"Well, it wasn't just me. There was also Demon-san and Lincoln here," Child Emporer nodded his head over in Lincoln's direction.

"Oh, I'm sorry but I don't think I know you," the man in the suit said regretfully, reaching out for a handshake. Lincoln obliged.

"It's cool. I'm Lincoln, a C-class hero."

"Oh, I see." The man immediately lost interest, turning to Child Emporer. "I was actually going to call you not too long ago. Metal Knight was asking for your assistance on one of his new machines."

"Metal Knight, ask for help?" Child Emporer scoffed unbelievably.

"I was as surprised as you. It's completely out of character for him, but there must be something extremely difficult to figure out if he felt he needed to reach out to you."

"Or maybe he's just trying to gather information on me again. Oh well, I have nothing better to do, so I suppose I'll humor him. But I have to get home soon, I have classes in the morning." The S-class started away, followed quickly by the man in the suit.

Lincoln blinked, taken aback by the swiftness of the interaction that took place, but then decided that it was none of his business. He turned and jumped up, vaulting over a building with barely a sound. He had some stuff to do after all.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Child Emporer exclaimed as he turned around. "Lincoln, would-"

The child hero stopped short when he noticed that Lincoln was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh . . . well, I suppose I can just talk to him later. Maybe Demon-san will help me meet him again."

* * *

Lincoln stepped into his apartment, determined to not do anything until tomorrow. Looking at the clock on his stove, though, he was surprised to find it was only 7 at the moment. Why the heck did it feel later than that? Well, he couldn't very well go to sleep right now, it was way too early for that.

Annoyed, he just laid across his futon and turned on the T.V. As he was flipping through channels, it was mostly basic cable television. Maybe he should wifi if it meant actually being able to watch something interesting on purpose instead of stumbling onto it. Not that anything interesting was on right now, the only thing playing was reality or cooking shows. He finally settled on some fancy cooking show that showcased food to expensive for him to even dream of eating.

As he watched T.V., the door opened and he heard the heavy steps of metal feet enter the room. Surprised, he looked over and saw Twenty-Three enter his apartment.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at your girlfriend's party?"

" **The Association called Tatsumaki into a meeting, so she canceled the party.** "

"Really? After all that time I spent putting that party together for you guys?"

" **Sorry, Lincoln-tan, but Tatsumaki deeply cares about her role as a hero. That always has first priority to her.** "

"Well, that loli can waste all my work if she wants, but you'd better keep your end of the deal!"

" **A promise is a promise.** " She walked over and proceeded to sit down on the futon, Lincoln unconsciously moving his legs to make room for her. " **What are you watching?** "

"Honestly? No clue. Some kind of cooking show, I think, but they keep making unrealistically tasty-looking foods."

" **Sounds interesting. Have you taken an interest in cooking?** "

"Not really, though I know how to cook basic stuff, and only like, one fancy dish. I used to make food for my sisters all the time."

" **Really?** "

"Yeah. I took more care of them than myself sometimes. I was always helping them with one thing or another." Lincoln stopped flipping channels for a second. "Honestly, they were way too dependent on me. I wonder how they got by after I left. Probably missed breakfast for a couple of weeks, that's for sure. Lynn probably got really bored without someone to practice with. Hopefully, Lucy was able to get someone to help her with her poetry, she always got stuck every once in a while. Leni probably took over preparing Lola for her pageants."

" **You miss them, don't you?** " She said.

"I mean, yeah. They are my family after all. And I haven't seen them in a long time. Haven't seen a lot of people in a long time. But I'm sure they've gotten along fine without me. And it's not like I'll never see them again." Lincoln started flipping channels again. "Well, anyways, I gotta focus on the right now. Like what route I'm gonna have to patrol tomorrow."

" **Oh, that's right. C-class heroes have to meet a quota, don't they**."

"Yeah, I feel like that whole system's a bit screwy, but I have to deal with it for now," he sighed to himself. "Honestly, I just can't catch a break with this stuff."

" **If you want I could send in a recommendation for promotion.** "

"Thanks, but I'm fine. That would be like cheating, and it wouldn't be fair to all the other heroes if I didn't move up on my own power."

" **I see. That is very noble of you, Lincoln-tan.** "

"Not really." Lincoln was about to say something else when the sound of ringing interrupted him.

" **One second, Lincoln-tan,** " Twenty-Three said, touching the side of her head.

"Again with the '-tan'."

" **Hello?** " Silence for a moment. " **Yes, I remember her . . . No, I'm afraid I don't speak English, there will need to be a translator.** "

"Wait, are you on the phone? Is there a phone in your head?"

" **Yes, I am his current guardian . . . no, unfortunately only I can use this number, he can not come to the phone at the moment.** "

"Hey, are you talking about me?"

" **. . . I see . . .** **Okay, I will relay this information to him . . . yes, it is no problem, although I ask you to refrain from using the Association to contact me, this line is meant for only one purpose. If you need to reach me again, I can give you my actual phone number . . . no, he does not have a phone . . . is that all? Then goodbye.** "

"Who was that?"

" **Your sister.** " Lincoln blinked.

"Uh, which one?"

" **Class A, Rank 27, Purple Rocker.** "

"Oh, you mean Luna?"

" **Yes. She did not know how to reach me so she asked the association to call me through a secure line, much to my annoyance. Nevertheless, I will use my actual phone to give her my number so that she can contact me that way.** "

"What did she want to talk to you about?"

" **She just wanted to know if there was some way to reach you, but you do not have a cellphone or a computer.** "

"Ah, so you gave her your number so she can talk to me."

" **I will . . . eventually. Oh, there is one other thing though. She did ask me to tell you that your family would be coming overseas to visit you.** "

"Oh, that's cool . . . wait, they're coming here?" Lincoln said, taking a one-over on his small apartment. "Damn it, this place will never survive them. I wonder if the landlord will let me use the apartment next door for extra space. Ugh, where are they supposed to sleep? I only have one bed and a futon, and there's no furniture next door."

" **Perhaps the Association can help with temporary housing.** "

"Really, they'd do that?"

" **If I asked them too, of course.** "

"Thanks, that means a lot. I don't feel like spending the next month cleaning their mess. Did they say when they're getting here."

" **She said they would depart next week and arrive early that Thursday morning.** "

"Oh, cool. How long are they staying?"

" **They did not say, however, I surely think they will want to be here a substantial amount of time.** "

Lincoln got up and stressed.

"Well, looks like I'm going to have to stock up to be able to feed all them. I'm going shopping, I'll be back in an hour or so."

" **I'll contact some of my people and see if we can get someplace.** " Lincoln smiled at the cyborg.

"Thank you, I owe you big time, Twenty-Three."

Lincoln opened the door and took a step out.

" **. . . Hayami.** "

Lincoln stopped and looked back at the cyborg.

"Hm?"

" **My name is Hayami.** " She said, smiling at him.

"Hayami . . . nice name," he said, and then stepped out. "Be back soon, Hayami."


End file.
